“Not out of the woods yet.” Gov. Mikie Sherrill praises storm response, says state still under a state of emergency
Sherrill said 365,000 outages were reported yesterday. She said “over 90% have been restored,” adding that about 35,000 customers remained without power.
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Gov. Mikie Sherrill held a press conference today to update New Jersey’s response to the storm. “We’re not out of the woods yet,” she said, calling the statewide effort “incredible.”
Sherrill said this was New Jersey’s first statewide blizzard in 30 years, noting “snow totals of over a foot across the state and two and a half feet in some places.” She said winds reached up to 65 mph and visibility was “essentially zero for hours.”
Video of news conference
She praised workers who kept the state moving through the storm. “They pushed through a very difficult and very dangerous night,” she said, noting crews who cleared rail platforms, restored power and worked on major roads in whiteout conditions.
Sherrill said 365,000 outages were reported yesterday. She said “over 90% have been restored,” adding that about 35,000 customers remained without power. She thanked more than 5,000 utility workers, saying some “came from as far as Ohio and Kentucky” to help.
Major state roads were back to blacktop, she said. New Jersey Transit resumed heavy rail on a modified schedule and light rail, bus and Access Link on normal schedules with some delays. “Think about that,” she said. “After two and a half feet of snow in some places, we were up and running last night.”
She said New Jersey would stay under a state of emergency likely through tomorrow. She warned of refreezing overnight, saying drivers should expect icy conditions in the morning.
“Please be careful,” she said. “Winter isn’t over.”
