West Orange Public Schools Closed Tuesday; NJ State Of Emergency

WEST ORANGE, NJ — The West Orange Public School District will be closed for an emergency day on Tuesday, Oct. 26 due to forecasts of severe weather, administrators said.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said Essex County could be hit with as much as 2 to 4 inches of rain early this week. The NWS issued a flash flood watch for Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Union counties from 8 p.m. Monday through 5 p.m. Tuesday. Read More: Flash Flood Watch Issued For Essex County (See Timeline)

Gov. Phil Murphy has declared a state of emergency in advance of the storm. Read More: State Of Emergency Declared As Nor'Easter Targets NJ

West Orange School Superintendent Scott Cascone issued a message about Tuesday's closure:

"In advance of the approaching nor’easter, Governor Murphy declared a state of emergency effective 8 p.m. this evening. He has urged people to stay off the roads, as such, it is simply not advisable to put buses on the roads and call in 1,300 employees to work. Therefore, tomorrow Tuesday, October 26, the school district will be closed for an emergency day. There will be no classes on campus or virtually and all after-school and evening activities are canceled. In order to provide working parents with as much notice as possible to make arrangements and to ensure that any power outages potentially suffered over the course of the evening do not impede communications, I am making the call now in an abundance of caution. I thank you in advance for your time and attention and wish you a safe evening and day tomorrow."

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