State of Emergency Declared in New Jersey

EXTREME WEATHER & CLIMATIC EVENTS
STATE OF EMERGENCY
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Christie declares a state of emergency due to a heavy snow storm plaguing NJ

The governor has ordered  all non-essential state workers to go home, on a staggering schedule, starting at noon.

“Today’s winter storm is expected to produce heavy snow and travel hazards throughout the state, affecting tonight’s evening commute,” Christie said in a statement on Monday.

The storm is forecast to dump heavy snow and freezing rain throughout the state, felling trees, and causing power outages and flooding, he said.

“Total Nightmare”

As of 7:00 p.m.  EST up to 9.5 inches of snow had fallen in some parts of the Garden State creating a “total nightmare” for the Super Bowl fans leaving the state.

“It’s a parade of storms this week,” said the state climatologist at Rutgers University. “We haven’t been able to tap this kind of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and other environments in quite a few weeks. January was the 8th snowiest on record in New Jersey but it wasn’t abundantly moist. We had a lot of cold, dry snow, fluffy snow, not the thumping snow that we have today.”

State of Emergency Proclamation (excerpts) 

… beginning on February 3, 2014 the State of New Jersey is expected to experience a severe winter storm with high winds, heavy snow, mixed precipitation, dangerous storm surges, and sub-zero temperatures throughout the State … this severe winter storm is predicted to produce hazardous travel conditions, cause fallen trees and power outages, and produce potential coastal, stream, and river flooding throughout the State … this severe winter storm is expected to result in dangerous conditions across New Jersey for several days,  impeding transportation and the normal operation of public and private entities … impending weather conditions constitute an imminent hazard, which threatens and presently endangers the health, safety, and resources of the residents of one or more municipalities and counties of this State … this situation may become too large in scope to be handled by the normal county and municipal operating services in some parts of this State, and this situation may spread to other parts of the State …

Christie’s State of Emergency Proclamation: Full Text

Meanwhile, the National weather Service issued the following forecast:

New Winter Storm to Impact the Central U.S. Tuesday and the Northeast on Wednesday

The next winter storm is ready to impact the Plains and Midwest with snow and ice Tuesday into Wednesday. Heaviest snow is forecast from central Kansas through central Missouri and Illinois, into central Indiana. This same system could bring a foot of snow to northern Pennsylvania into central New England on Wednesday.

U.S. Weather Hazards Map (Hazmap)  for Tuesday, February 4, 2014. Issued at 02:36UTC. Source: NWS. UPDATE