Town braces for first winter storm

UPDATED Noon Monday: The township library is closed Monday, the Recreation Center is closing at 4:30 p.m. and the following roads are closed at this time; "WESTBROOK BETWEEN NOSENZO POND RD AND RIDGE RD AREA OF 110 MORSETOWN ROAD AREA OF 52 DELMONT RD ALL TOWNSHIP ROADS HAVE BEEN SALTED. NOT ALL ROADS HAVE BEEN PLOWED IN ANTICIPATION OF TODAYS SNOW EVENT," according to police.

UPDATED 6:30 p.m. Sunday night... West Milford Schools are closed Monday and the town's tree lighting ceremony is also cancelled, according to officials.

Township officials sent out alerts to residents on Sunday, letting them know how to handle the first winter storm of the season.

“We are expecting mixed precipitation with the approaching storm. The temperature is expected to be at or just above freezing which could lead to hazardous driving conditions,” West Milford police said in a statement on its Facebook page Sunday morning. “We recommend not driving in the storm if you do not have to.”

The region was placed under a Winter Storm Warning from 7 a.m. Sunday through 7 a.m. Tuesday as a large storm marched toward the northeast.

The storm is expected to drop between 5-12 inches of snow in western Passaic County and the lower Hudson Valley, according to an alert by the town’s Office of Emergency Management.

The National Weather Service predicted snow starting before 4 p.m. Sunday, changing to freezing rain and sleet during the night and into Monday.

The snow, freezing rain and sleet are predicted to continue through Monday and into the overnight hours of Tuesday, eventually ending around 8 a.m. Tuesday, according to the service.

As of noon on Sunday, freezing rain already placed a coat of ice on the roads and sidewalks.

NWS said that traveling during the storm could become “impossible” due to the snow and ice expected.

The township canceled garbage collection for Monday because of the storm, officials said.

Police are also reminding residents not to park on roadways so that crews can plow and keep them clear.

In addition to hazardous traveling conditions, the ice and accumulating snow could bring down trees and wires, causing power outages, officials said.

We will update this story throughout the storm as developments warrant.

If you have any storm photos, please send them to editor.wmm@strausnews.com.