The first winter weather storm of March comes a day after we saw highs reach the mid-60's in spots, but whatever snowfall we get today below freezing temperatures tonight could make for a messy Saturday morning commute.

Photo by Justin Louis
Photo by Justin Louis
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Ocean County Roads Supervisor Tom Curcio explains that while today's storm was slow to develop, their crews have been ready to roll out and clear the roads and remains cautiously optimistic for the total accumulation.

"Temperatures are very warm, so I don't see much in the way of accumulation especially on pavement," said Curcio.

He adds that the crews were out on Ocean County roads this morning salting and preparing for any amount of snow.

This may be a dress rehearsal for a possible storm Monday night into Tuesday of next week, which is something Curcio says he's keeping a close eye on just in case.

"It looks like that may be a bigger storm on Tuesday," said Curcio. "We may go out and put brine down prior to that if we don't see any rain in the forecast."

Bitter wind chills and below freezing temperatures tonight into the weekend could create some road hazards across the shore.

"What's wet or slushy now...if it gets into the teens it'll turn into ice, so we have to keep a watch on that," said Curcio.

If the temperatures do reach those lows, Curcio explains the salt they laid down won't have much of an effect.

As the sun comes up tomorrow, he believes that combined with the salt on the roads will help melt the ice.

"The sunlight makes a big difference in activating the salt," said Curcio. "We use calcium mixed with the salt which lowers the freezing point."

The chilling winds combined with snowy and rainy conditions plays a factor in creating unpleasantness on the roads.

"In our northwest area of the county in Plumsted and Jackson, we get a lot of drifting out of the farm fields across the roads," said Curcio.

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