The New Jersey travel ban, originally set to expire at 7 a.m., has been extended until noon, Gov. Mikie Sherrill Monday.

She said emergency crews reported white‑out conditions, drifting snow and visibility so poor that plow drivers struggled to see guardrails. Sherrill said in an interview with News 12 that the ban has helped crews clear major highways, including the Turnpike, and allowed utility workers to reach damaged areas.

More than 200,000 customers lost power, and Sherrill said over half have already been restored. She credited utility crews who “had to really hike into places” because of heavy, wet snow and strong winds. About 70,000 JCP&L customers remain without service. Sherrill said over 5,000 utility workers are deployed statewide, but downed trees and branches continue to slow access to some power lines.

NJ Transit remains at a standstill due to outages. Sherrill said crews are working to restore power and dig out the system, adding that updates will continue as cleanup progresses.

The governor said conditions remain dangerous, with reports of winds as high as 65 mph in parts of the state and another six inches of snow expected along the shore. She praised residents for staying off the roads and thanked public works crews, state troopers, DOT teams and utility workers for working through the storm, calling it “a storm like we have not seen here in New Jersey in at least a generation.”