Mahwah Preps for Winter Storm

Thirteen sanders, 28 plows, two large trucks converted into plows, and six county vehicles will be out in Mahwah Saturday to combat a storm that forecasters say could bring up to 11 inches of snow to the area.

According to township DPW Director Keith Hallissey, trucks were pre-loaded with salt Friday and crews were pre-assembled to respond to the storm.

“We basically break the town into ten sections,” and respond to each one with plows and salt trucks during a storm, he said.

“We have a big force out there.”

Orange and Rockland also announced Friday is was declaring a company-wide Storm Watch in advance of any possible power outages the storm might bring.

In advance of the snow, O&R scheduled additional overhead electric line crews and placed its emergency response group on standby, the utility said.

The National Weather Service is predicting Saturday’s storm will bring anywhere from three to 11 inches of snow:

• Saturday: Snow, mainly after 10am. High near 23. Northeast wind 5 to 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. Total daytime snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
• Saturday Night: Snow before 1am, then freezing rain and sleet. Temperature rising to around 30 by 3am. East wind 10 to 16 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New ice accumulation of 0.1 to 0.2 of an inch possible. New snow and sleet accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.
• Sunday: A chance of freezing rain and sleet before 9am, then a chance of freezing rain between 9am and noon. Partly sunny, with a high near 37. Northwest wind 7 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Hallissey said the storm should not affect the ongoing leaf pick-up in the township.

“Our plows go around the leaves,” that are still on the ground, he said.

Residents can expect leaf pick-up to continue Monday morning.

“The snow doesn’t affect that. We can pick up snowy leaves, no problem.”

Hallissey said the DPW is currently in its second round of leaf pick-ups across the township, and anticipates completing most of the third and final round before Christmas.