Power Restored For 30K, 21K Still Dark In Morris County On Monday

MORRIS, NJ — Power has been restored to nearly 30,000 homes in Morris County since Friday's nor'easter, but over 21,000 homes are still dark. As of 8:04 a.m. Monday, 21,670 homes across the county remain without power, down from Friday afternoon's peak of 51,000. Almost every town still has at least one home without power.

Power is expected to be restored to most homes by Wednesday night, but an upcoming storm could slow efforts. Snow is expected to start late Tuesday night and accumulate up to 5 inches on Wednesday (see a full forecast here). Patch has reached out to JCP&L to see how the snow could affect power restoration times, and will update when we hear back.

Update, Tuesday 9:25 a.m.: Read more on current restoration times and how the upcoming storm could affect that here.

Morris County Office of Emergency management is monitoring the upcoming storm:

Our next area of concern will be the coastal storm anticipated to move in through Tuesday night and Wednesday. Current forecast data suggests that rain will start Tuesday evening and will change to snow around midnight. Snow is expected to continue through Wednesday morning, until the snow intensity tapers off in the afternoon.

Confidence is high this will be a plowable event with at least 3-inches of snow. Although there are still uncertainties with the specific storm track, snow potential could end up being much higher in some areas, with the possibility of 3 to 7 inches of snow.

Morris County OEM will continue to monitor the storm track. Although we will not have the magnitude of winds that we just experienced on Friday, we will have a breezy risk that will pose a risk for trees/power lines to come down as well as heavy, wet snow.

Some towns have taken longer to see significant restorations than others: 58 percent of Mendham Borough is without power, while all homes in East Hanover have had power restored. (see a full breakdown of outages locations and power restoration times at the bottom of this article).

Power outages aren't just affecting homes. Some schools are without power, and multiple districts, including West Morris Regional, cancelled school Monday. Schools will follow the same restoration schedules as the neighborhoods they're located in. (See town-by-town storm updates below.)

"We have some schools in Morris County that are without power. While they are considered critical facilities, the restoration dates/times mentioned above also apply to the schools," officials said.

County officials said it's not possible to give restoration times more specific than by Tuesday or Wednesday at 11:30 p.m.

"Due to the magnitude of the outage, getting specific information on the restoration time for a particular neighborhood or street in your jurisdiction is not possible at this time while JCP&L remains in storm mode. Please DO Not call 911 to inquire about outages and repair times," officials said.

While waiting for roads to be cleared, residents should avoid downed power lines entirely, the county warned. On Friday, a Sussex County man was killed when he came into contact with downed power lines.

"Customers should never go near a downed power line, even if they think it is no longer carrying electricity. Extra caution should be used in areas where downed lines are tangled in trees or other debris," officials said.

• Read More: Winter Storm Watch For 10 NJ Counties As 2nd Nor'easter Expected

Here are local storm updates, as provided by the towns:

Morris Township

Woodland Avenue is still closed, alternate route is recommended.

Morris Plains

If your personal property sustained any damage as a result of the winter storm on Friday, 3/2/18, which you have not previously documented with Police Department, please contact us ASAP.

Long Valley

The Washington Township Public Library, 37 East Springtown Road, will be open as a warming/charging location on Monday between 10am and 9pm.

JCP&L reports work on Chester substation serving majority of Washington Twp customers w/out power scheduled today. Work is also scheduled on Port Murray substation which serves 35 Washington Twp customers without power per JCP&L.

Non-potable water is available at PDHQ, 1 E Springtown Rd. Bottled water and charging available at Mun Bldg, 43 Schooleys Mtn Rd open to 6 p.m. Library is also open as a warming Center until 9 p.m.

Northbound traffic on Schooley Mtn Rd closed at Fairview.

Chester Township

Mailbox repairs in Chester Township are expected to begin on Tuesday. Residents need to call the Borough at 908-879-3660 ext. 2118 to report a damaged mailbox. Removal of debris that was placed roadside by the DPW and JCP&L will be ongoing.

We are pleased to see the outpouring of support residents have offered each other, whether it is to invite people over for meals, for charging, for use of showers, or to bring food and coffee to utility workers on the job. Please continue to check on neighbors in need; let's keep the kindness flowing. If you have tried to contact a neighbor in town that you are concerned about, and have not been able to reach them, please call the police non-emergency number and request a 'welfare check.' The non-emergency number is (908) 879-5514.

Area businesses are largely open and ready for visitors. Please call ahead to confirm individual schedules. Nitroflex Fitness Gym is offering use of its showers to area residents. Local gas stations are open, Shop Rite is open, and area restaurants are open.

Power has been restored to the traffic light by Shop Rite on Route 206. Utility crews are expected to be back at Furnace Road today.

10:21 a.m.: Furnace Road is closed between Tannersbrook Road and Rt. 206 while JCP&L makes repairs. Estimated closure time of 4 hours.

Parsippany Police

All roads have been cleared of power lines and fallen trees with the exception of Lord Stirling Drive at South Beverwyck Road. Power outages in town are now down to 512 customers.

Montville

A Nixle alert was put out at 0340 on Monday morning with the following information. Over Night Hook Mountain Road had an electrical incident that caused it's closure.
Road closure: status Closed

• Hook Mt Rd
• Passaic Valley Rd
• Waughaw Rd
• Jacksonville Rd
• Peace Valley Rd
• VistaRd
• Pepper Rd.

Status Open

• Pine Brook Rd now open

The Montville twp. Senior House has extended the hours of operation due to the falling temperatures.

Monday, March 5th

• Charging/Warming Only (No Showers) - 12am-3pm
• Fully Operational (Including Showers) – 4pm-10pm

Mendham Township

ROAD UPDATE: Washington Valley Road & Rt. 24 West in Ralston has been reopened- Power is slowly being restored to the area but still could take an extended period of time. Twp Schools will also be closed Monday 3/6. DO NOT MOVE OR DRIVE AROUND BARRICADES OR CONES-SOME POWERLINES MAY HAVE POWER RUNNING TO THEM & ARE DANGEROUS.

Showers, heating and recharging will be available at the Brookside fire house from 8 am to 1 pm on Monday 3/5. Stop in, get cleaned up and stay safe.

Power Outages Locations And Restoration Times

The county shared tips to help with restoration efforts:

• Please DO not call 911 unless you have a true emergency. Our 911 professionals are not in a position to engage you in conversation with regard to when power will be restored.
• Register your power outage via the JCP&L site. This should take place regardless if you are aware of other outages in your area. Every outage should be registered so it can be tracked. To report outages, call 1-888-LIGHTSS (888-544-4877), go to www.jcp-l.com, or click on the "Report Outage" link on www.firstenergycorp.com.
• Morris County Municipal Coordinators in all of our Morris County municipalities have identified warming stations for residents should they be necessary. Please check your local municipalities website for site location and hours of operation.

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