How the first snow storm of 2022 is impacting Ocean County, NJ
Depending on where you are today there will be a variety of impacts from the first winter storm of the season and of 2022, which could bring maybe 3-5 inches to northern Ocean County and perhaps up to 12 in southern Ocean County and the chances for that increase as you head into south Jersey.
So far the storm is impacting more of southern Ocean, south of Toms River, as of 11:30 am Monday.
The conditions are different depending on where you are, Ocean County Sheriff Mike Mastronardy tells Townsquare Media News, and while a couple first aid calls have come in, there haven't been any major accidents reported so far.
There are plows are out across the county especially in the southern end in towns south of Lacey like Barnegat, Little Egg Harbor/Tuckerton and LBI among others.
Harvey Cedars Police posted an alert on Facebook this morning asking drivers to stay off the roads today if possible.
January 3 snow storm in Ocean County
The Ocean County Road Department is zoning in on cleanup and road safety efforts as we speak as well.
Ocean County Road Supervisor Scott Waters said in a statement that road crews are currently have a primary focus in the southern part of the County, from Lacey Road on south.
“We are seeing an accumulation of a slushy mix on our roads. We have already put down salt and we are plowing County roads in areas that need it,” Waters said. “We will continue to monitor the weather throughout the day and address areas that may be receiving snow or a wintry mix.”
Waters explains that crews will use brine to help keep the roads from getting slick especially at the temperatures we have today and will have tonight.
“Brine is a cost-effective way of keeping snow from piling up on the roads,” Waters said. “Coating the road surface with brine before the snow starts falling makes it easier to plow later.”
As a side note from the county, there are three 10,000-gallon tanks where brine is mixed in our area which are located at garages in Plumsted, Toms River and Stafford.
“Brine is an excellent option for storms where forecasts call for the precipitation to begin as snow, it doesn’t work for storms that begin as rain and later change to snow,” Waters said. “The rain washes it away very quickly. We didn’t brine for the Jan. 3 snow because it was raining beforehand and the temperatures were in the high 50s.”
While the focus right now is in southern Ocean County on roads including Route 539, if it really starts to pile up in northern Ocean County, the first roads that will be addressed include the 500 series on roads such as Hooper Avenue in Toms River and Route 571, which travels through Toms River to Jackson.
"We start with these main roads and work our way to the secondary roads," Waters said.