Winter Storm Orlena leaves a lasting impression
West Milford. National Weather Service report 30 inches of snow fell in parts of Passaic County on Monday alone.
| 04 Feb 2021 | 11:02
Winter Storm Orlena was the biggest storm to hit the metro area in five years. Photos provided by Patricia Keller.
Probably the only groups happy about the massive snowfall of this week were school kids and snow removal contractors.
Once the winter storm had passed, these young people in West Milford found good packing snow for snowballs and snowmen.
Now that’s a lot of snow.
There’s nothing like the sound of a snow blower hard at work. And nothing better once you’ve finished clearing the driveway.
Residents in West Milford and elsewhere in New Jersey spent Groundhog Day repeatedly plowing and shoveling after a winter storm left as much as 30 inches of snow in the northern part of the state.
Snow showers, blowing snow and coastal flooding continued to cause problems Tuesday throughout the state. forecasters said.
A state of emergency imposed Sunday by Gov. Phil Murphy remained in effect and state government offices were closed for nonessential personnel.
A commercial vehicle ban on state roads was lifted at noon on Tuesday.
Just about 2,000 customers were without power about midday Tuesday, the governor said, far fewer than were feared.
“I think we dodged a bullet,” said Board of Public Utilities President Joe Fiordaliso.
The National Weather Service reported 30 inches of snow fell in parts of Passaic County on Monday.
NJ Transit resumed regular bus service in the southern part of the state., but it delayed resumption of bus and train service in the northern and central parts of the state.
The New Jersey State Police reported as of 7 p.m. Monday, troopers had responded to 661 crashes and aided 1,050 motorists since 6 p.m. Sunday.
Perhaps a 122-year record may been been broken
This week’s winter storm also appears to have broken a 122-year-old record for the most snow in a New Jersey community from one storm.
Mount Arlington, which is about 26 miles southwest of West Milford, got 35.5 inches of snow in the storm, which lasted about three days, the National Weather Service noted Tuesday in a preliminary report. It could take months to confirm the total and the new record, though.
The snowfall report came from a trained weather observer, and officials note there’s no reason to doubt its veracity. If confirmed, it would top the record of 34 inches that fell during a blizzard Feb. 11-Feb. 14 in Cape May County in southern New Jersey in 1899.
Impact
New Jersey’s six mass-capacity COVID-19 vaccination sites will remain closed on Tuesday due to the winter storm, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said.
The facilities closed Monday because of the snow and wind across the state and region.
New Jersey has opened what it calls megasites in Atlantic, Bergen, Burlington, Gloucester, Middlesex and Morris counties.
The Democratic governor said the Morris facility has rescheduled vaccinations to Wednesday, while the Atlantic and Middlesex sites moved to Thursday. The Bergen, Burlington, and Gloucester sites were set to be closed Monday anyway.
Murphy urged people to contact the vaccination call center, which remains open, with any questions. The phone number is 855-568-0545
Murphy also reported that nearly 800,000 people had been vaccinated as of Monday. There were 34 new deaths from the disease overnight, putting the total at 19,384.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in New Jersey fell over the past two weeks, from 6,056 new cases a day on Jan. 17 to 4,860 new cases per day on Sunday.
- The Associated Press