Camden County officials ready for Tuesday snowstorm

With a drastic change in weather conditions on the way, Camden County will continue to monitor weather forecasts and keep an eye on the latest roadway conditions.

“In light of the developing storm, this will be an all hands on deck scenario for the department and we will be fully staffed and have all of our resources in place to fight the snow,” said Freeholder Ian Leonard, liaison to the Camden County Department of Public Works. “We are continuing to monitor the developing system in order to respond to any weather condition and keep Camden County’s roadways passable. In preparation all trucks are already loaded and ready to start treating roadways at the first sign of precipitation.”

At the public works complex in Lindenwold, more than 70 pieces of equipment stand ready to keep county roadways passable and motorists moving. If the weather becomes treacherous personnel will be dispatched to 12 winter maintenance districts to address salt and plow 400 miles of roadways across Camden County. The county’s response plan calls for crews to be dispatched only to the zones where they are needed. In addition, because of the possibility of high winds, crews will have chainsaws and tree removal equipment at the ready for downed trees blocking any county roadways.

“As always, when the weather turns hazardous we recommend that motorists remain cautious and give themselves extra time to reach their destinations,” Leonard said. “Anyone on the roadways during these times should be prepared to encounter slick or icy road conditions.”

The latest forecast obtained by Camden County is calling for our current mild weather to end late in the day as an arctic front brings a very cold air mass to the region. With this cold air in place, a system from the southwest will likely bring snow to our area by late morning or midday Tuesday as it forms into a coastal storm offshore. Some uncertainty remains in amount of precipitation or snowfall from the system, but forecasters are not ruling out the possibility of up to 8 inches of accumulation in some areas. Winds will also be a factor bringing the possibility of drifting snow Tuesday night and bitterly cold temperatures.