Before the snow strikes, residents hit the stores to stock up.
By: David Campbell
Princeton residents and merchants were still digging out Monday after a weekend double whammy of snow that left the region blanketed in about a foot of the powdery white stuff.
State Climatologist David Robinson said some parts of the region saw up to 15 inches of snow in a weekend storm that delivered "two shots" from Saturday into Sunday morning. The first resulted from a low-pressure system out of the Midwest, bringing several inches Saturday afternoon into the evening. A resulting coastal low below New Jersey delivered a second wave of snow around midnight, Mr. Robinson said.
This weekend’s storm was the largest snow event since the storm of February 2003 left the region covered in about 20 inches, and it was larger than the storm of December 2003 that resulted in more than 10 inches.
It is somewhat unusual in New Jersey to have 10-inch-plus storms three years running, Mr. Robinson noted.
And if below-freezing temperatures continue, as they have for the past 10 days, the climatologist said this weekend’s snow is likely to stick around and it may not be the last.
"Believe it or not, it wouldn’t surprise me if we get a dusting tonight, and then another shot on Wednesday, maybe an inch and a half," Mr. Robinson said Monday.
But the most recent storm, while substantial, didn’t constitute a blizzard, he said. One thing that was missing was frequent winds higher than 35 mph and limited visibility of a quarter mile or less due to blowing or heavily falling snow.
"We never had blizzard conditions here," the climatologist continued. "Blizzards pose life-threatening conditions. It’s minimizing the significance of a blizzard to call this a blizzard.
"But it was a substantial snowstorm," Mr. Robinson said. "It could have been worse, because all of the ingredients didn’t come together simultaneously."
Indeed, the region was fortunate that the storm occurred over the weekend and came in two separate events both of which, he said, helped area crews get a better handle on clearing roads and parking lots.
Area school districts in Princeton, West Windsor-Plainsboro and Montgomery were closed Monday due primarily to the road conditions left in the aftermath of the storm.
Police in Princeton Township and Princeton Borough said Monday that the weekend didn’t witness any major snafus due to the storm. A snow emergency was declared Saturday morning in the township. A statewide snow emergency was in effect starting Saturday night. That is also when the borough declared a snow emergency.
Princeton Township Police Capt. Mark Emann said Monday that the township was lucky. There were maybe a dozen incidents of motor vehicles sliding off the roads, and a state snowplow blew a tire, but otherwise, he said, "It went pretty good. We had a lot of snow to move."
Capt. Emann said declaring a snow emergency early enough helped. Also helpful, he noted, was a duty shift of officers who chose to sleep over on cots at police headquarters Saturday night so they would be available for work at 6 a.m. Sunday.
Other than the occasional vehicle stuck in the snow, Borough Police Lt. Dennis McManimon said Monday the borough also witnessed no serious problems stemming from the heavy snowfall. The only noteworthy incident occurred Saturday when he said a man working a snowplow suffered an accident because he was driving while intoxicated.
Area stores saw a boost in business due to the snow as residents stocked up on foodstuffs and plenty of DVDs and videos.
"Unbelievable," said Hector Lopez, store manager for McCaffrey’s Market at the Princeton Shopping Center. "We got an unbelievable rush. It was bigger than the Christmas Eve rush but people were very calm.
"We were very, very pleased at how well the community behaves with these kinds of storms," said Mr. Lopez. He said customers flocked to the store on Friday and Saturday. He said McCaffrey’s also saw business on Sunday when it was open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., opening late and closing early for the safety of employees on the roads, he said.
Princeton Video at the shopping center also saw a rush of business, according to an assistant manager there.
"Yes, you could say that," she said, "we had a very big rush."
The video store saw its stock fly off the shelves Friday evening and Saturday. The assistant manager said the store also did a brisk business when it opened for a few hours Sunday.
Princeton Borough Public Works Director Wayne Carr said Monday the snow removal went well and was now focused on making the roads clear for the evening rush hour. From Sunday night to Monday morning, more than 75 truckloads of snow were hauled from the downtown to the Sewer Operating Committee site on River Road, Mr. Carr said.
Princeton Township Public Works Superintendent Donald Hansen reported few complaints and said pretty much every road in the township has been cleared. "We did pretty good considering the storm we had," he noted.
West Windsor Township police reported no significant power outages, traffic lights out or power lines down as a result of the weekend snowstorm. Detective Sgt. Pat McCormick said the township responded to about a dozen motor vehicle accidents, none of which were significant, he said.
On Monday, all roads in West Windsor were passable, but the majority were still covered with snow and slush, Detective Sgt. McCormick said. "For as bad at the storm was, it looks like we got through this without too many problems," he said.
Montgomery Township police reported that, considering the size of the storm, "Things went pretty smooth," according to Lt. Greg Harkins. A few minor accidents were reported, but it was nothing out of the ordinary for a storm of its size, he said.
Staff writers Jennifer Potash, Rachel Silverman, Jill Matthews and Kara Fitzpatrick contributed to this story.

