Westfield Gives Snow Updates For Friday; See Totals Here

WESTFIELD, NJ — The township of Westfield provided another update on Thursday evening on what the National Weather Service called a "long duration snowfall" that's expected to continue through Friday.

By Thursday afternoon, when the temperature temporarily warmed up, spotters around the area give these snow totals for Union County (Read more: Who Got The Most Snow? NJ Town-By-Town Snow Totals):

• Cranford 3.6 in
• Elizabeth 3.4 in
• Linden 3.0 in
• Mountainside 2.7 in
• Plainfield 3.8 in

The National Weather Service expects more snow early Friday morning into the afternoon. See the forecast below.

The Westfield schools were remote Friday morning, as they had been for Thursday. A message on the district website said, "Due to icy, hazardous conditions, all students and staff will be on remote learning on Friday, February 19 for the morning session. There will be no afternoon session."

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Westfield Township updates for Friday

On Thursday night, the town of Westfield issued an alert saying the following:

• The Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect through 7 p.m. on Friday, with additional snow and sleet accumulations of 1-3 inches expected by tomorrow evening.
• The Department of Public Works continues its plowing operations throughout town.
• For those parked in Lots 1 and 3 due to the storm, please move your cars by 6 a.m. Friday so that the lots can be properly cleared. The crews will also be doing plowing touch-ups and salting as needed.
• The town has been informed by Grand Sanitation that they were not able to complete all of Zone 4 today due to road conditions. They will return to the missed areas of Zone 4 tomorrow (Friday), and Zone 5 will be picked up on Saturday. Please ensure that your items for collection are easily accessible.

Here is the updated forecast for the Westfield area:

For Union County, the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch through Friday at 7 p.m. They predict:

• Friday: Periods of light snow, mainly before 3 p.m. High near 34. Wind chill values between 20 and 30. North wind 6 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
• Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of light snow before 1 am. Cloudy, then gradually becoming partly cloudy, with a low around 25. Wind chill values between 20 and 25. Northwest wind 5 to 8 mph.

Earlier alert

Around midday on Thursday, the township sent an alert saying cars should be moved from certain streets to allow for plowing.

The message said:

Public Works will begin plowing operations shortly. Please remove all cars from the street. Public ordinance 2070 prohibits parking on any street in Westfield when three or more inches of snow have fallen until snowfall stops and the entire width of the road has been plowed. The Westfield Police Department will issue tickets for violations of this ordinance. Under these circumstances, the shoveling or blowing of snow into a plowed street is also banned.

Downtown residents without driveways may park in Lot 1 behind Farinolio/Chipotle. Lot 3 at the south side train station will also be made available temporarily for off-street parking as the demand for commuter spaces in that location has been reduced due to the pandemic.

In addition, the following locations are subject to alternate side of the street parking after three inches of snow have fallen, and vehicles need to park on the side of the street with even house numbers (except for Ross Place).

• 400 & 500 block of Downer Street
• 400 block of First Street
• Livingston Street
• Cacciola Place
• Cowperthwaite Place between Elm and Clark Streets
• 300 & 400 block of Lenox Avenue
• 200 block of St. Paul Street
• Entire length of Ross Place (park on the side with odd numbers only)

Grand Sanitation is continuing to pick up recycling today in Zone 4 as road conditions permit. If all collections cannot be completed, we will communicate those details later today with rescheduling information.

Updates, including plowing alerts and public safety information, will be posted on the Town’s website (www.westfieldnj.gov) and social media channels, as well as through Nixle.

What happened Thursday

Westfield schools were remote Thursday morning and closed in afternoon.

Various Westfield and Union County businesses were still hard at work, and posted on social media:

• Downtown Westfield was posting updates and "snow day" sales at local businesses. Click here for more.
• PuroClean of Union County posted a clever suggestion that people make their own DIY hockey rink in the snow.
• Bovella's in downtown Westfield posted a little of their own powdery goodness.

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