NJ Declares State Of Emergency With Up To 6 Inches Of Snow In Forecast

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency Thursday, with up to 6 inches of snow projected for New Jersey. The state of emergency begins at 10 p.m. Thursday.

Murphy recommended that anyone who can work remotely or start later in the day should do so. Forecasters expect the brunt of the storm to occur between 1-7 a.m. Friday, with the highest snowfall totals projected for portions of South and Central Jersey.

“This would be a good time to stay home,” Murphy said of the storm's harshest hours.

Murphy plans to call for a delayed opening to state offices. A commercial-vehicle ban will also take effect on some of the major interstate roads in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, he said.

Some utility crews may be shorthanded because of COVID-19, Murphy said.

The National Weather Service issued a winter-storm warning for eight counties — all in South or Central Jersey: Monmouth, Salem, Gloucester, Camden, Burlington, Ocean, Cumberland and Atlantic.

The agency predicts 3-6 inches of snowfall in this region from 10 p.m. Thursday to 10 a.m. Friday. Snowfall in the region could exceed 1 inch per hour late in the night, with snowfall expected to wind down west to east by sunrise Friday, which is slated for 7:21 a.m.

Forecasters project 3-5 inches of snow for much of North Jersey from midnight to noon Friday.

The upcoming snowstorm continues a chaotic week of winter weather throughout New Jersey. Authorities reported hundreds of accidents Wednesday morning amid icy road conditions. Crashes throughout the day killed two people, injured dozens and created a 65-car pileup. Read more: 2 Dead, Dozens Hurt As Hundreds Crash On NJ's Icy Roads

Murphy did not call a state of emergency for Wednesday's hazardous weather. But he called one Sunday for five South Jersey counties in anticipation of the next day's snowfall. The region saw its greatest snowstorm since January 2018, with several areas seeing more than a foot of snow. It came one day after temperatures in the upper 50s and lower 60s.