Belleville Opens Warming Center as Streets Ice Over

Belleville officials issued a Code Blue alert, giving them the authority to move homeless and other vulnerable people into shelters, as flash freeze warning was about to turn streets into ice skating rinks during the evening rush.

Local government and weather officials warned that a “flash freeze” would begin around 4 p.m, resulting in a sudden drop in cold that could force air temperatures by 10-15 degrees in an hour.

The National Weather Service in New York issued a winter weather advisory at 3:29 p.m., to expect another one to three inches of snow and ice with temperatures in the teens and wind chills making it feel as bad as 10 below zero.

The temperature at 4:45 in Belleville was 24 degrees and the official Essex County snow totals were up to 7.8 inches in Cedar Grove.

The warming center could be called directly at 973-450-3430.

Belleville police said that the late evening hours of the town’s tax collectors would be postponed until Wednesday from 6 p.m to 8 p.m.

Meanwhile the Nutley Board of Commissioners announced that trash collection, jitney bus service and all parks department activities were suspended.