Winter storm dumps two feet of snow on New Jersey

A fierce nor’easter brought heavy snow, gusty winds and freezing temperatures to most of New Jersey Sunday, creating havoc for people on the roads and hard work for people who had to dig out from the snow. After a winter that for the most part has been relatively mild, the storm that started late Saturday dropped as much as two feet of snow in some parts of the state. While the storm tapered off by late Sunday, officials warned that the wet weather and low temperatures overnight could make for icy conditions on the roads. Roselle in Union County saw the most snow with 24.6 inches, according to the National Weather Service. The storm caused problems at area airports, including Newark Liberty International, where more than 200 flights were canceled. The airport was closed for part of Sunday but reopened later in the day. The conditions spurred New Jersey Transit to suspend all bus service statewide for several hours on Sunday, although it was resumed at 4 p.m., and most rail service was back to normal after some lines operated on modified schedules. Strong winds that accompanied the storm - some ranging from 25 to 35 mph, with gusts of up to 50 mph - caused blizzard-like conditions in many areas and hampered the efforts of crews trying to clear roadways across the state. Around 16,000 thousand homes throughout New Jersey went without power at different times Sunday because of the snow. By midnight, service had been restored to most areas of the state, with less than 200 Jersey Central Power & Light customers still without power. Patrick Maloit, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Upton,N.Y., said while the storm was bad, on a weekday the effect could have been a lot worse. ``The headache has been minimized because it happened on a Sunday,’’ Maloit said. ``It was good timing for a storm of this magnitude.’’