NJ Gets Coastal Flooding, Rain and Wet Snow From Storm [POLL]
Today's late winter storm event is being felt around New Jersey with high winds, power outages for thousands, coastal floods and airport delays along with voluntary evacuations.
There are reports of temporary dunes being breached in Seaside Height according to the NE Emergency News & WX Feed Facebook page as well as a wind gust of 78 MPH in Wildwood. Pictures from the southern coast show flooded roads and beaches.
Atlantic City Electric reports just over 27,000 customers without power, primarily in Atlantic and Cape May counties.
Public Service Electric & Gas, the state's largest utility, reports 1,170 customers have lost power, while Jersey Central Power & Light reports around 1,330 are affected on its outage map.
The precipitation has fallen as light rain today and forecasters have backed off their snow predictions and now expect the snow to accumulate only on grassy and untreated surfaces overnight. Coastal Flooding, however, will still occur Wednesday night and Thursday.
Winds also brought down power lines near a Jersey Central Power & Light Co. substation in Lake Como that knocked out power to hundreds of homes in Belmar, as well as the Jersey shore town's elementary school and library.
The Stone Harbor Volunteer Fire Company said it responded to the Sanderling Condominiums, which it said sustained major damage. The building was evacuated and its utility service shut off. Authorities in Stone Harbor also shut down a major road through town because of fallen electrical wires and utility poles.
Readings of 58 mph were reported in Stone Harbor where the wind blew off part of the roof of a condominium complex, as well as Ocean City, which was advising residents to move their cars to higher ground in preparation for possible major flooding early Thursday morning.
Wind gusts have reached over 50 mph in several areas along the coast especially in Cape May County according to the Rutgers University NJ Weather & Climate Network. Winds are not nearly as strong inland although Cream Ridge in Ocean County recorded a 50 mph gust.
Brielle is urging residents in low lying areas to voluntarily evacuate. Earlier, Brick, Toms River, Barnegat, Ocean Township (Ocean County) and Point Pleasant Borough town officials urged residents in low-lying areas and areas prone to flooding to voluntarily evacuate to higher ground.
Flights arriving at Newark Liberty International Airport & La Guardia Airport are more than 90 minutes late. Philadelphia International reports 3 hour delays while JFK has delays of nearly an hour.
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NJ Transit will offer full system wide cross-honoring starting at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, and continuing until the end of the service day on Thursday.
COASTAL FLOODING & HIGH WINDS
A Coastal Flood Watch is effect for all of the New Jersey coastline for Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning for high tides anticipated to be about two feet above normal Wednesday, perhaps four feet Thursday, about the same as the last Nor’easter but well below the surge that took place during Sandy.
The Toms River Department Of Public Works is preparing for the storm by strengthening exsisting dunes and placing sandbacks on the street where homeowners haven't signed easements.
A Wind Advisory is posted along the entire coast for winds reaching 20-30 MPH with gust to 40-50 MPH this afternoon.
OTHER AREAS
The same storm has already affected the midwest and mid-Atlantic states. Hundreds of airline flights along the projected path of a late snow are being canceled. Delays are expected at Newark, JFK, La Guardia and Philadelphia's airports.
Washington D.C. was spared the predicted 10 inches that shut down government offices. Up to 20 inches of snow piled up in parts of central and western Virginia. Some communities in Washington's outer suburbs saw significant accumulation too, including in Loudoun County, which had 9 inches.
In Sterling, Va., a glaze of slush and snow coated major roads and side streets, but traffic was relatively light and plow trucks came through repeatedly. Many retailers were closed.
Eastern New England looks to get another 6-10 inches of snow from the storm on Friday as the storm slowly moves away from the coast.