Politics & Government

'Stay Off the Roads,' Christie Says in Declaring State of Emergency

Governor closes state offices Friday as storm brings heavy snow and sub-zero temperatures.

New Jersey is under a State of Emergency as of Thursday evening due to the coming snowstorm.

All state offices will also be closed for non-essential employees on Friday.

"The impending weather conditions over the next several days will produce a variety of dangerous travel conditions throughout the state," Gov. Chris Christie said as he issued his declaration late Thursday afternoon. "I encourage all New Jerseyans to stay off the roads if possible so that our first responders and public safety officials can safely respond to any emergency situations."

Find out what's happening in Westwood-Hillsdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The State Director of Emergency Management and Superintendent of State Police Col. Rick Fuentes is authorized to work with all county and municipal emergency operations and governmental agencies in coordinating the preparation, response and recovery efforts for the storm, which is expected to dump 10 inches of snow on some parts of New Jersey.

Temperatures are expected to plummet into single digits this weekend.

Find out what's happening in Westwood-Hillsdalewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Coastal flooding, along with flooding from rivers and small streams is expected. County agencies throughout the state issued Code Blue alerts on Thursday, calling for municipalities to open warming centers for those who would otherwise be left in the cold during the storm.

The storm is also expected to bring high winds that could result in power outages throughout the state.


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