WEATHER

Snowstorm NJ 2018: Here's how Thursday's commute turned into complete chaos

Curtis Tate
NorthJersey
NJ Governor Phil Murphy arrives to vote at the Fairview Elementary School in Middletown Tuesday, November 6, 2018.

The first winter storm of the season caught state officials off guard Thursday, leaving commuters enraged, stranded on snow-covered and ice-slicked roads and wondering why so little was done to prepare.

And they weren't shy about their anger. Commuters took to all corners of the internet to tell their horror stories — and place the blame squarely at the feet of Gov. Phil Murphy.

"The total lack of preparedness from the governor’s mansion on down left our state in a complete mess!" said Jay Wanczyk, who spent over 7 hours on an NJ Transit bus from Pompton Plains to Manhattan.

The storm's impact on the Thursday evening commute was a setback for Murphy, whose administration has failed to improve deteriorating service on NJ Transit since he took office in January.

In separate broadcast media appearances Thursday evening, Murphy sought to blame forecasters, saying the storm hit harder than expected. Predictions varied depending on the region, but initially had as much as 4 inches of snow falling on most of the region Thursday, with higher elevations north and west of Route 287 predicted to get more.

Instead, some parts of New Jersey received 6 to 8 inches of snow, making it one of the largest totals ever for a single storm in November.

Even so, commuters derided Murphy and state agencies for their lack of preparedness. That, combined with a storm perfectly timed with the evening commute, threw North Jersey highways into chaos. Hundreds of accidents were reported. Many drivers were stranded, running out of gas after hours on the road. Others spent hours behind the wheel on commutes that typically take minutes.

Here are their stories.

Angry commuters

Dianne Scott, who works in Hasbrouck Heights, reported that it took half an hour to get up the incline on the exit from Route 17 to Allendale.

"Traffic at a complete standstill for half an hour because of rear-wheel drive cars unable to make it up the slight incline heading east toward Allendale and getting stuck, completely blocking both lanes just after the underpass," she said in an email.

Scott credited her boss with allowing her to leave the office early, as well as the actions of law enforcement.

"A shout-out to the police officer who went car-to-car to explain the situation and urge those who probably would also get stuck to stay to the right so those of us with 4WD could squeeze left around the stuck vehicles," she said.

Glenn Purdham said he was stuck in an "absolute mess" on Route 23. 

"No plows. No cops," he said in an email. "Me and four other guys were pushing cars up hills one by one."

Snow totals:How much snow did North Jersey get Thursday?

7+ inches of snow:Why did the storm hit so hard?

Angry commuters:Gov. Murphy gets slammed on Twitter for handling of snowstorm

Trevor Fennell said it took two and a half hours to get from Oakland to Ridgewood, which are less than 10 miles apart.

"Everyone knew it was going to snow," Fennell said. "Didn’t see one plow."

Mark Flores said he'd give officials an "F" for their preparedness. Flores said it took him three and a half hours to get from Hudson County to New Milford in Bergen County.

"I have driven in blizzard like conditions  and the roads were not as bad as they were today," Flores wrote in an email. "Where were the plows and salters?"

Even getting from the train station home proved a daunting task for Tuan Duong. The ride from the station in Hackensack to Ridgewood took three and a half hours, Duong said in an email.

"Cars inched along in every direction," Duong said. "Roads were like ice rinks. Poor driving conditions led to numerous accidents and blocked lanes."

John Anderson of Waldwick said he left work at the courthouse in Newark at 3 p.m. It took him three hours just to get to the Garden State Parkway.

The road had been plowed until his exit at Route 17. There, he and four others got stuck. 

"Together, we dug each other out without complaint and in solidarity over how the powers that be, dropped the ball," Anderson said.

He finally arrived home to his wife and kids, six hours later.

Some commuters hadn't even made it home. 

Irfam Kirimca was trying to get across the George Washington Bridge from New York to New Jersey. But Kirimca had been stuck for five and a half hours on the Deegan Expressway. And conservation of fuel trumped concerns about the cold weather.

"I keep checking the traffic reports and the GW Twitter feed and there is no information as to why we’re not moving," Kirimca wrote in an email. "Also, I’m low on gas so I had to shut my car off." 

Debbie Veloccci said her son left work at 3:45 p.m. but was still not home at 9:30 p.m.

"Traffic has not moved on Main Street in West Orange this entire time," she said.

Others worried more about how their children would get home than their own drive.

"I was relieved that my children are teenagers and had a ride home so they didn’t have to stay at school, waiting for buses that would never arrive, like many of their friends," said Diane Murray, whose commute from Hoboken to Wood Ridge took five and a half hours. 

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In and out of NYC

Getting out of midtown Manhattan was a particular struggle. As the snow accumulated quickly through the afternoon, commuters backed up at the Port Authority Bus Terminal to the point where it had to essentially shut down.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey advised commuters to use NJ Transit trains to get home from Manhattan, but soon New York's Penn Station backed up, too.

While the bus terminal passengers fared the worst, with delays of up to three hours, Penn Station passengers had little comfort, with delays of 30 to 60 to minutes.

Murphy's response

Murphy admitted in a radio interview that the storm caught state officials off guard. 

"If you’re inside, stay inside. If you’re on the road, please be safe. And we’re all going to need some patience tonight. We’re getting clobbered. This is a lot deeper, it’s lasting longer, and it’s taxing all of the systems," he told 1010 AM, WINS.

Twitter:Chris Christie joins everybody else on attacking Phil Murphy

What happened:Phil Murphy blames poor storm response on forecast, commuters leaving early

News:Leonia students stranded for hours on buses during snowstorm

A little later, on 880 AM, WCBS, Murphy acknowledged that many drivers were stuck.

"Thankfully, in certain areas were we able to get out ahead of it," he said. "But there are certain areas right now where admittedly there are too many stories of being in a parking lot right now."

Even Murphy's predecessor, Chris Christie, weighed in on the debacle. Christie, who lives in Mendham, tweeted that it took him five hours and 40 minutes to get home from Piscataway. The towns are about 30 miles apart. 

But Christie had his own problems with snow storms at the beginning of his tenure.

In December 2010, when he took his family to Disney World just as a blizzard paralyzed the state, Christie came under sharp criticism, and tried to deflect blame by suggesting county road crews dropped the ball.

And while he got high marks for handling Superstorm Sandy, Christie also was infamous for how he handled flooding in South Jersey years later during his bid to be a presidential nominee.

"I don't know what you expect me to do? You want me to go down there with a mop?"