By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Central Jersey and the rest of the state are under watch for a winter storm that could bring wet snow and high winds, a combination that raises the possibility of power outages due to downed wires.
The National Weather Service, Mt. Holly Station, said Thursday that snow is forecast to start falling late Friday and into the weekend, with wind gusts of up to 55 mph and accumulation totals of six to 14 inches. A system moving through the southern part of the country is headed to the northeast, as cities like Washington, D.C., and Baltimore are bracing for much higher snow accumulations that Winter Storm Jonas is threatening to drop on them.
The storm could carry a mix of snow and rain and make for wet snow, the Weather Service said. Officials continue to track Jonas, and said the forecast could change between now and when the snow is supposed to fall.
For commuters possibly trying to get home a little earlier than normal during the evening rush Friday, NJ Transit said that it has not decided whether to add extra trains out of Penn Station New York. NJ Transit is urging its customers to build in longer travel times if they are planning to travel during the storm.
Toward the end of January last year, NJ Transit had a full service suspension due to a winter storm. “It depends on how much snow we get,” NJ Transit spokesman Jim Smith said of that scenario repeating this weekend.
“We are prepared to close (Trenton-Mercer) airport if the current forecast of 12 to 18 inches of snow holds true, but we’ll have to wait and see how the storm develops,” Mercer County Executive Brian M. Hughes said.
PSE&G is preparing for power outages should they occur by scheduling extra crews and having extra trucks on stand by, utility spokeswoman Brooke Houston said Thursday. The utility serves three-quarters of the state population, with 2.4 million customers, who can call 800-436-PSEG to report downed wires or power outages.
Through the region, municipal officials were readying themselves Thursday for the first major snowfall of what has been an otherwise mild winter.
“We prepare for the worst,” said West Windsor Mayor Shing-Fu Hsueh said.
Princeton Mayor Liz Lempert said the possibility of high winds pose the biggest concern, given that they lead to downed wires and trees and power outages. She said that the amount of snowfall would dictate how long it takes to clear roads.
She said the town would make reverse 911 calls on Friday to instruct residents to remove their cars from the street so that public works crews have enough room to plow the snow.
Robert Hough, director of infrastructure and operations for Princeton, said that the town’s salt supply is at a “full capacity” at around 1,200 tons. His department has around 30 vehicles to clear roads.
Princeton Superintendent of Schools Stephen C. Cochrane said all sports events at the high school for this weekend were cancelled. A decision is pending Friday on whether to postpone the SAT administration, due to take place Saturday morning, with about 400 students from Princeton and the area scheduled to come.
“We are still waiting to make a decision regarding events on Friday evening and on Sunday,” he said.
The Princeton Public Library said it would make a decision around the middle of Friday afternoon on whether the library would be open or closed Saturday.
