NJ Wakes Up to Winter Storm; NYC Not So Much

Snow began piling up early Saturday in a storm that showed no signs of stopping soon across southern New Jersey. 

The Philadelphia suburbs of Blackwood and Delran both reported at least a foot of accumulation by 5 a.m. Saturday. The National Weather Service said areas from the Philadelphia suburbs to the Jersey shore could see up to 2 feet by the time the snow would stop falling late in the day.

New York City wasn't hit badly, getting only a light dusting of snow that didn't amount to much accumulation. A winter storm advisory remains in effect throughout the five boroughs until 6 p.m. tonight. 

Blizzard conditions were expected at the Jersey shore. By daybreak, the wind was howling through the casino towers in Atlantic City, blowing the snow sideways as it continued to fall.

The National Weather Service said northeast winds could reach 33 mph with gusts up to 50, and predicted a chance of tidal flooding.

While some flights were canceled or delayed, most arriving and departing flights there were on schedule Saturday. Normal operations also were reported at New York's LaGuardia and JFK airports.
    
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates Newark and the New York airports, said all runways were operating as of late Saturday morning.

During the day Friday, supermarkets and video stores kept busy, so were liquor stores where people stocked up when they had the chance for Sunday's Super Bowl parties. By mid-afternoon, a sign at Ace Hardware in Westmont let shoppers know shovels and sleds were sold out.

The entire state was under some kind of winter storm advisory or warning. But the southern Jersey shore was expected to get the worst of it. Usually the hardest hit by snowstorms, Sussex County in the northwest corner of the state might see only 2 to 5 inches of snow.

With the storm on the way, the speed limit on the New Jersey Turnpike south of Exit 4 in Mount Laurel was reduced to 40 mph.

The state's transit agencies ran trains less frequently and allowed riders with bus tickets to take trains and vice versa. Amtrak canceled several of its Northeast Corridor trains on Saturday, and New Jersey Transit was expecting to cancel many of its buses in southern New Jersey.

The Delaware River Port Authority said it had managed to keep its four bridges connecting New Jersey and Pennsylvania in the Philadelphia open as of 7:30 a.m., but the speed limit was lowered to 25 mph.

We can expect the entire system to wind down Saturday afternoon, and Super bowl Sunday looks to be dry but frigid.

Of course, always check NBCNewYork's weather page for the latest up-to-the-minute forecast.

And don't forget to download the NBCNewYork iPhone app free from the app store for weather updates, news and more.