Livingston Schools to Close Early as Blizzard Nears

Livingston Public Schools announced plans for early dismissal Monday as a historic winter storm is forecast to dump up to 30 inches of snow on the area from Monday afternoon until late Tuesday, with high wind gusts and sub-freezing temperatures leading to whiteout conditions.

Livingston High School will dismiss students at 12 noon, followed by Livingston elementary schools at 12:15 p.m., Heritage Middle School and Mt. Pleasant Middle School at 12:45 p.m. All afternoon and evening events are cancelled, including the afternoon PRIDE meeting and the Livingston Board of Education meeting scheduled for 7 p.m.

Montclair Ambulance Unit said its special operations center is monitoring the pending storm and will issue updates on social media and MVAU.org. Police in North Caldwell warned of downed tree limbs and the collapse of flat roofs due to the heavy and wet snow.

The National Weather Service today issued a blizzard warning starting at 1 p.m. on Monday for the entire New York metropolitan area, including Essex, Bergen and other New Jersey counties.

The warning calls for more than two feet of snow in New Jersey, with higher amounts east of New York City. The storm will have north winds of 20-30 miles per hour, with gusts up to 50 miles per hour and one-quarter-mile visibility at times.

The worst of the storm will take place Monday evening into Tuesday, and the combination of heavy snow and high winds may lead to falling tree limbs and downed power lines, making some secondary and tertiary roads impassable.