By Mary Brienza, Staff Writer
The township is getting blasted again by winter’s fury as the snow just keeps on coming. The snow that came early Wednesday dumped another couple of inches.
Township spokesman Ron Schmalz said the storm blanketed the the region with 4-5 inches of snow by 10:30 a.m. Wednesday with possibly another 8-10 inches coming later in the evening.
According to the National Weather Service, the double-barreled storm is predicted to last into Thursday morning with the heaviest snowfall starting around 6 p.m. Wednesday evening.
Mr. Schmalz said the crews were out at 7 a.m. using 60 pieces of equipment to remove the snow.
”The full force (of our crews) is out (plowing),” Mr. Schmalz said early Wednesday. “It is still falling pretty good.”
The municipal building was open in the morning but scheduled to close at 3:30 p.m. as a result of the snow, Mr. Schmalz said.
Garbage pick-up and senior and disabled adult transportation were postponed Wednesday, according to the township website.
Municipal Court sessions on Thursday were canceled, according to the township.
Township schools were in session Wednesday for a scheduled half day due to professional development, according to township officials.
All after school activities were canceled Wednesday, but the after -school program would remain open until parents could pick up the students, district officials said.
As of 10:30 a.m., several cars had spun out or become disabled because of the storm, Sgt. James Ryan said.
Mr. Schmalz said there had been about 2 inches on the ground around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, but the snow had slowed down a bit since.
According to National Weather service meteorologist Valerie Meola, this storm is not officially a blizzard as of early Wednesday because the storm does not have a lot of wind and the visibility is not low enough.
So far this year, there have been 42.9 inches officially measured at Newark International Airport not counting this storm, which almost triples the 13.9 inches measured there by this time last year, Ms. Meola said.
While the amount of snow this season is well above last year in New Jersey, Philadelphia International Airport has recorded 22.7 inches this year, less than the 25.1 inches recorded there last year, Ms. Meola said.
Sgt. Ryan said that police were requesting motorists to drive slower and be more cautious during the storm.
”The storms intensity appears to have come earlier then predicted and will require everyone to reduce speeds and use extra caution,” police Chief Raymond Hayducka said in a statement Wednesday morning.
