How to survive the Jan 2015 blizzard

Preparing for a storm doesn’t mean anything bad will happen, just that you’ll be comfortable if your lights or water go out, and you’ll know how to stay safe indoors. I hope you all stay safe and warm throughout … remember to check on elderly or infirm neighbors and if you have a safety tip or information resource, please share it with us. BTW they’re calling this storm Juno.

Here’s how you can prepare for and track the storm:

1. Wunderground provides completely reliable weather updates.
2. Here are some storm preparedness tips:
   • Gas up your cars, keep your cellphones and computers charged and have some cash on hand (credit cards don’t work when the power’s down).
   • Be prepared in case your lights or water get knocked out. A storm with this much snow (and ice too, probably) can down or damage power lines. A nice food protection tip is: put freezer baggies of water in your freezer and let them turn into ice. If power goes out, the ice will keep food cold and you will also have water to drink as it thaws. This and other good tips – plus an in-depth overview of what to expect during the storm – in the report by expert meteorologist Dennis Mersereau aka The Weather Dude.
   • Red Cross storm preparedness tips
   • FEMA preparedness tips
3. The last New Jersey Transit pre-blizzard bus and rail trips will depart 8pm Monday night and will arrive by/at 10pm due to worsening weather conditions. Visit NJTransit’s updates and alerts page to sign up for alerts and get general information.
   • Rail: Service will remain shut down until Thursday morning January 29, depending on track/equipment and infrastructure conditions. The last train will make all local stops.
   • Bus and Light Rail: Service may resume Wednesday, January 28 depending on road and track conditions as well as snow-removal operation.
4. How to handle power outages
   • Massachusetts routinely gets worse weather than we do in New Jersey, so they have a really extensive checklist of how to handle power outages
   • Report power outages
     • PSE&G in New Jersey 800-436-PSEG. Outage Map. Twitter.
     • JCP&L in New Jersey 888-544-4877. Outage Map. Twitter.
     • Orange & Rockland in New York State Outage Map.
5. How to clear snow from fire hydrants (shared by the Bergenfield and Hillside NJ Fire Departments)
   

   

   

6. A state of emergency was declared for New Jersey on Monday afternoon. There are misconceptions floating around about what this is, exactly, with some statements making it sound more like martial law than what it actually is. Follow the link to learn about it from the horse’s mouth.
7. Contact info for county OEM offices throughout New Jersey
8. New Jersey Department of Transportation issues alerts and advisories through 511nj.org.
9. Warming shelters
   • Bergen County NJ
     • Bergen Community College, 400 Paramus Road, Paramus
     • Law and Public Safety Institute, 281 Campgaw Road, Mahwah

Thanks to friend and Red Cross volunteer Han Broekman for sharing some of these tips.

Updated 03 Feb 15