Gloucester Twp. Residents Urged To Prep For Heavy Snow, Ice, Dangerously Low Temps

Editor's note: This article no longer has Gloucester Township Patch's most-recent coverage on the upcoming storm. Click here for Patch's local coverage on Friday.

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — As weather officials predict heavy snowfall, Gloucester Township residents have been urged to prep for this weekend's winter storm.

The National Weather Service expects 12 to 18 inches of snow in New Jersey from Saturday night through early Monday.

Sleet and freezing rain will reduce the snowfall totals near and southeast of Interstate 95. But the wintry mix will further complicate travel, according to the weather agency's regional office in Mount Holly.

Police are advising Gloucester Township residents to take precautions for the upcoming storm:

• Remove all parked vehicles and trailers from the roadways, if possible, so Public Works crews can plow the streets.
• Say off the road while it's snowing and shortly after so plows and salt trucks can clear the roadways.
• If you must drive to work, give yourself extra time to travel safely. Remove all snow off your vehicle, including the roof.
• If you live near a fire hydrant, remove snow from the front, back and sides of it so firefighters can quickly locate them.
• Gloucester Township residents with special needs can sign up for the police department's Emergency Preparedness Registry.
• If you have an emergency, call 911. If you need immediate police assistance in Gloucester Township, call 856-228-4500.

Snowfall predictions may change as the winter storm nears. But weather officials expect a range of hazardous conditions, including heavy snowfall, a glaze of ice and dangerously low temperatures.

• Read more: New Snowfall Accumulation Estimates Released For NJ

"There is increasing confidence in major snowfall accumulations across much of the area, making travel very difficult, and potentially resulting in widespread closures and infrastructure impacts," says the National Weather Service's latest regional storm briefing, issued at 3 p.m. Thursday.

Precipitation will mainly fall late Saturday through early Monday morning, peaking during the daytime Sunday, officials said.

Sleet, freezing rain and plain rain could mix in Sunday afternoon, likely in the Philadelphia metro area and south.

Meanwhile, dangerously low temperatures will linger through the next week, according to weather officials. A cold-weather advisory is in effect from midnight Friday night to 10 a.m. Saturday, when wind chills could fall to 8 below zero.

"Frostbite and hypothermia will occur if unprotected skin is exposed to these temperatures," the National Weather Service said.