WEATHER UPDATE: 132 Accidents, Speed Restrictions, Outages, Ice As Snow Blankets New Jersey

Drivers battled slick roads as more than 2 inches fell in New Jersey Friday, and thousands were impacted by road accidents and power outages.

As temperatures were dipping below freezing, police warned that drivers would be battling snow and ice as day moved into night.

>>Related: WEATHER UPDATE: Hour-By-Hour Forecast Of New Jersey Snowstorm

The most snow was reported in Burlington County, where nearly 4 inches fell, and Monmouth County, where 3 inches fell. PSE&G reported more then 1,000 customers were temporarily without power in the Monmouth Junction area of South Brunswick, possibly due to a blown transformer.

Also on Friday:

• There were at least 132 crashes and 172 motorist aids reported in State Police patrolled areas since the snowfall started Friday morning.
• A 45-mph speed restriction was imposed on the New Jersey Turnpike in both directions from north of Interchange 8A to the George Washington Bridge, and 35 mph to the south.
• A 35-mph speed restriction was imposed on the Garden State Parkway from Cape May to south of Exit 88, and 45 mph from Exit 88 to the New York state line.
• An accident was reported on Route 55 southbound in Elk Township. Right shoulder closed; use caution.
• An accident with injuries was reported on the Atlantic City Expressway westbound east of Frank S. Farley Service Plaza in Hamilton. Right and center lanes closed.
• An accident on U.S. 9 in both directions was reported north of Jimmie Leeds Rd in Galloway. Traffic shift; use caution.

The National Weather Service is now saying that as much as 2 to 5 inches of snow will blanket almost all of New Jersey on Friday. More than 2 inches had fallen by 2 p.m.

AccuWeather reports that, although the calendar says that spring arrives on Friday, a blast of cold air is set to delay the season’s warmer conditions across the East.

As that storm departs over the weekend and merges with another system across Canada, a rush of cold air will charge into the Great Lakes and Northeast and delay spring for millions of people.

High temperatures are expected to tumble as a cold front sweeps in over the weekend, falling 5 to 15 degrees below the normal for this time of the year on Sunday, according to an AccuWeather release.

“Longer daylight hours and strengthening sunshine will negate some of the chill,” said AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski in the release.

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