New Jersey declared a state of emergency ahead of the imminent arrival of a massive winter storm. Governor Phil Murphy announced that he will activate issue a state of emergency starting this Tuesday at 5 p.m. which will last until Wednesday morning for heavy rain, winds and flash flooding:
⚠️ State of Emergency effective at 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 9 in anticipation of severe storms causing hazardous weather conditions including heavy rain 🌧️ , high winds 💨, and flash flooding 🌊.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) January 8, 2024
The state of emergency, Governor Murphy explained, will be in effect in all 21 counties in New Jersey and will allow resources to be deployed throughout the area for the duration of the storm:
Beginning tomorrow morning and continuing through Wednesday morning, we are expecting one to four inches of heavy rain, strong winds, and potential inland and coastal flooding. This storm will exacerbate the effects of the inclement conditions we experienced in December and this past weekend and may precede another storm Friday night. As always, I urge all New Jerseyans – including residents in our coastal and riverine communities – to follow all safety protocols and remain off the roads unless absolutely necessary.
Massive winter storm causes closure of two interstates in the middle of the country
The middle of the country is not much better. AP reported that two interstates had to be closed. Specifically, Interstate 80, in Nebraska, and Interstate 70, in Kansas. The latter road closed from the town of Russell all the way west to the Colorado border, as the weather made transportation difficult. In fact, authorities reported several vehicles leaving the roadway on I-70 in the northeastern part of Kansas.
TRAVEL ALERT:
I-70 is expected to remain closed overnight. Westbound closed from Colorado to Salina, and eastbound closed from Colorado to Exit 205 near Wilson. Many secondary routes also closed. Keep checking https://t.co/PMwufxHbcT for the most current information. #kswx pic.twitter.com/ErZo7a2upF— Kansas Department of Transportation (@KDOTHQ) January 9, 2024
Power problems in Alabama, Georgia and Florida
Various parts of the country are experiencing electrical outages. The massive winter storm caused Alabama, Georgia and Florida to experience significant power grid failures.
According to data provided by Poweroutage.us, at 10:34 am (EST), a total of 83,090 customers reported being without electricity in Florida, while 59,400 and 49,335 homes reported having problems with their electricity supply in Georgia and Alabama.
The situation is slightly better in other parts of the country such as Kansas, Washington or Texas. There, although there are outages, the number of people affected is much smaller. 37,354 customers said they did not have electricity in Kansas, while 31,525 and 19,504 homes said they did not have electricity in Washington and Texas, respectively.
