Nor’easter Blows Into Hopatcong, Sparta: Cleanup Underway

SUSSEX COUNTY, NJ – A “major" nor'easter hit the Hopatcong, Sparta area on Wednesday, producing plowable snow that made travel treacherous.

The National Weather Service labeled the "major" system a "nor'easter" since it was expected to produce strong, sustained damaging winds and precipitation over a 24-hour period beginning Wednesday.

In Sparta, the storm also shut down virtual learning for Thursday.

State officials mobilized more than 400 pieces of road equipment available to make the roads safe, even though fewer people are taking to the roads because of the coronavirus outbreak. This does not include the county and municipal crews. The NJDOT had more than 3,000 plows and salt spreaders mobilized to clear state highways, but asked that residents stay off the roads.

"Residents and motorists should avoid driving unless you are an essential employee needed for emergency response. If you do not have to be on the roads during the storm, stay home," officials said. "The safety of motorists and work crews is the Department’s top priority."

AccuWeather was saying the system could be the "most significant winter storm in several years," one that could potentially become highly impactful and disruptive as the first round of coronavirus vaccines continue to be shipped around the country.

AccuWeather warned of major disruptions to travel and even travel shutdowns, as well as shipping delays, school closings and power outages from this "blockbuster storm," – even though a number of New Jersey school districts have said they'll opt to go remote instead of closing.

The focus for the Department of Public Works Departments in Hopatcong and Sparta will be facilitating the clearing of roadways and assisting utility and repair crews in getting to their destinations.

JCP&L imported crews from western FirstEnergy operating companies in Ohio and have staged in line shops and other locations throughout New Jersey. In addition to line crews, JCP&L also brought in substation, forestry, dispatchers, and hazard responders from all over the Midwest to address repairs, authorities said.

In the event outages occur due to severe weather, customers without power are encouraged to report their outage by calling 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877), clicking the "Report Outage" link on www.firstenergycorp.com, or by texting out to 544487.

Customers should immediately report downed wires to 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) or call their local police department. JCP&L reminds customers to stay away from downed wires, even if they believe they are no longer carrying electricity. Extra caution should be used in areas where downed lines are tangled with trees or other debris. Motorists are cautioned to treat intersections with inoperable traffic signals as four-way stops.

"The data suggests that we will be dealing with mostly wet snow," said the Morris County Office of Emergency Management.
Here's the forecast as of 4 p.m. Wednesday:

• Wednesday afternoon: Snow. High near 30. Northeast wind around 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
• Wednesday night: Snow. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 25. Blustery, with a northeast wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 9 to 13 inches possible.
• Thursday: Snow likely, mainly before 11am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny, with a high near 31. Blustery, with a north wind 15 to 20 mph decreasing to 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
• Thursday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16. North wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

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