New Jersey declares emergency ahead of nor’easter

March 6 (UPI) — New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency Tuesday as a second winter storm in as many weeks prepares to lash nearly two dozen states.

He said the declaration goes into effect 8 p.m. and that state emergency officials were “particularly concerned” about Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, which were still recovering from last week’s nor’easter.

The new nor’easter was expected to deliver heavy snow and winter storm warnings from Pennsylvania to Maine, and could cause travel problems for much of the Northeast over the next two days.

Strong winds were expected to cause additional damage, power interruptions and some coastal flooding, forecasters said.

Snowfall Tuesday stretched from the Minnesota to Wisconsin and into parts of Michigan, while thunderstorms headed for the Tennessee Valley and New Orleans. In Minnesota, hundreds of traffic accidents were related to the winter weather, officials said.

Snowfall and rain showers were expected to begin near Philadelphia on Tuesday evening and continue to New York around midnight. Once the storm strengthens, forecasters said heavier snow was forecast to move into New England, with Boston seeing a rain-and-snow mix.

Snow was expected to fall at 2 inches per hour in some locations in the Northeast on Wednesday. Experts said snowfall totals cold reach 5 inches in Boston, 10 inches in Philadelphia and perhaps a foot in New York City.

Murphy said New Jersey has prepared more than 207,000 tons of salt and 2,500 plows, spreaders and loaders. He said more than 50,000 households were still without power from the previous storm.

At least seven people, including two children, died in Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Maryland and Virginia during the first nor’easter, which blasted the region late last week.

Winds toppled power lines and rains flooded coastal towns throughout the Northeast, as about 2 million homes and businesses lost electricity.