Halloween Storm Cleanup Continues

If you woke up this morning and ran to the window to see if Saturday's destructive storm was just a dream, the nightmare continues. Just two months from the destructive path of Hurricane Irene, residents throughout Union County are trying to cope with the aftermath of yesterday's freak snow storm.

Despite the shocking appearance of snow and its damage, may parts of New Jersey were hit harder than Union County. Jefferson Township received a foot of snow and West Milford, in Passaic County, topped out at 19 inches. The widest band of the storm, which cut through Union County, dropped 4 to 8 inches of snow. The storm has left nearly 2.5 million people without power, from Massachusetts to Maryland.

Powerlines that fell under the weight of the wet, heavy snow throughout the day yesterday, are still causing trouble throughout the county. Please exercise extreme care as you try to clear fallen trees and get back to normal. The wintry mix has caused early-morning concerns, with reports of patches of black ice throughout the county. Motorists are urged to be careful on the slippery roads.

As temperatures rise throughout the day, there will be a significant amount of runoff, so check your sump pumps to be sure they're helping keep water out of your basements. News and information to report? Please comment, post photos of damage at home or in your neighborhood and keep us posted on ways that Patch can deliver constant updates to this story. We will continue to update the situation all day and night.

JCP&L customers are urged to call 1-888-LIGHTSS(544-4877) to report power outages or any other issue. PSE&G customers can call 1-800-436-PSEG (7734).

This little bit of mayhem likely has you wondering if it's an omen for the winter of 2011-12. According to farmersalmanac.com, we can be ready for above normal temperatures in a wet and stormy winter.

Update, 8 a.m.

Roughly 500,000 homes in New Jersey remain without power, down 13 percent from midnight. Crews from JCL&L and PSEG are hard at work, trying to repair downed lines and restore power to these homes, but officials say that Wednesday remains the target day for getting all the homes repaired.

Meterologists are saying that the stormfront has now moved into New England and that Union County residents can expect blue, cloudless skies today, with a high nearing 50 degrees. They continue to stress, however, that high winds could cause even more damage for tree limbs weakened by yesterday's heavy snow.

NJTransit reports that the Morris-Essex and Montclair-Boonton lines have been suspended, but they are cross-honoring all passes on open train and bus lines.

Update 11:40 p.m.

As of 11 p.m. Saturday, 17,822 Jersey Central Power & Light customers were without power in Union County, including:

• 6,863 customers in Summit
• 4,782 customers in Berkeley Heights
• 2,935 customers in New Providence
• 1,816 customers in Springfield
• 1,294 customers in Murray Hill
• 72 customers in Mountainside
• 57 customers in Watchung
• 2 customers in Chatham
• 1 customer in Short Hills

For PSE&G customers, more than 30,000 customers in the same territory were also in the dark, including:

• As many as 10,000 in Plainfield
• As many as 5,000 customers in Westfield, Scotch Plains, Clark, Rahway and Union
• As many as 2,000 customers in Linden, Roselle Park, Elizabeth, Hillside, Cranford and Mountainside
• As many as 500 in Springfield and Kenilworth

Because of the number of damaged trees and downed power lines, PSE&G says it could be Wednesday before power is fully restored.

PSE&G reminds residents that downed wires should always be considered “live.”  Residents should not approach or drive over a downed line and not touch anything that it might be in contact with. To report a downed wire and other visible equipment damage, call 1-800-436-PSEG and tell PSE&G the nearest cross street.

Electric crews work to restore power to the largest numbers of customers first, taking into account “priority” customers, such as hospitals, police stations, fire stations, water and sewer facilities, communications facilities (TV, radio, and telephone), and customers on life-sustaining medical equipment, according to a news release on the company's website  At the same time, the utility restores power to homes and businesses, starting with the circuits serving the largest number of customers.