Thousands without power after winter storm drops more than a foot of snow on parts of greater Philadelphia region

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A powerful winter storm brought strong winds and blanketed much of the Philly region and South Jersey with more than a foot of heavy snow. It caused downed trees and wires, power outages, and many school closures.

Here's what you need to know.

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Snow started falling around 6:30 p.m. Sunday and continued overnight, with some areas seeing blizzard conditions of 2 inches of snowfall an hour. Some flurries continued in parts of New Jersey as late as 5 p.m. Monday.

Along the coast, wind gusts reached up to 55 mph. The Philly region saw wind gusts up to 35 mph.

The National Weather Service reported 20.8 inches of snowfall in Mount Holly, New Jersey, 17 inches in Lindenwold, and 19 inches in Mays Landing. In Pennsylvania, 20.5 inches fell in Fairless Hills, Bucks County, while Malvern, Chester County, saw 12.3 inches. Morton, Delaware County, and Norristown, Montgomery County, each got 13.4 inches, while Northeast Philadelphia saw as much as 16 inches.

PECO and PSE&G are still reporting some power outages, but Atlantic City Electric is facing the most, with just over 14,000 customers still without service. The bulk of the outages are in Cape May County, with more than 4,300 customers still without power. Some of the estimated restoration times on the utility’s outage map were listed as late as 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 28.

At its peak during the storm, more than 112,000 AC Electric customers experienced service interruptions.

All available AC Electric field personnel, including more than 225 local and out-of-state contractors, are responding to restore service safely and as quickly as possible. AC Electric said an additional 183 contract personnel from New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Michigan are supporting the restoration effort, with more expected.

If you experience an outage, contact your service provider.

In addition, a boil water advisory is in effect for some residents in Camden following a water main break that happened during the storm. This affects people in the Fairview, Morgan Village and Centerville neighborhoods, as well as parts of Waterfront South.

If you live in those areas, you need to boil your water for a full minute, then allow it to cool before drinking it or using it to brush your teeth or wash dishes.

American Water said the system needs to be completely flushed before crews can start testing the water. It could be another two days before the water is safe to drink again.

Although the storm has passed, New Jersey remains under a state of emergency. Gov. Mikie Sherrill said Tuesday that the state has made remarkable progress digging out, but the work continues.

At the height of the storm, more than 360,000 people across New Jersey lost power. So far, power has been reconnected to 90% of them.

“I want to emphasize we are not out of the woods yet,” Sherrill said. “We’re still in a state of emergency, likely through [Wednesday], to help clean-up and recovery efforts. Some icy conditions remain, particularly in the morning before it warms up. So remember, there will be a lot of snow melt. It’ll be warmer during the day, freezing overnight, so early morning icy conditions, motorists should be aware. Please be careful.”

Sherrill asked for patience and cooperation as these efforts continue.

Philadelphia's snow emergency has been lifted. Drivers can resume parking on snow emergency routes. The $5 discounted parking rate at PPA garages has ended.

The storm dropped about a foot of heavy, wet snow across the city, which, combined with high winds, created conditions for downed wires and trees. The city said it received reports of about 100 downed trees, and officials have inspected roughly three-fourths of them so far.

The city said crews have plowed about 71% of roads at least once. Office of Clean and Green Director Carlton Williams promised to clear ADA ramps and curbs faster this time around.

"Our crews have been working around the clock to fight this storm,” he said. “Residential streets are being treated along with primary and secondary roads to ensure all roadways are safe to travel citywide. This is the new standard set by Mayor Parker. Additionally, we are using every tool in the toolbox including three snow melters and newly purchased snow blowers to address tight areas ADA ramps, intersections, crosswalks, and bike lanes during operations.”

You can call 311 for service, but if it’s an emergency, like a downed wire, officials said you should assume the wire is live, stay away, and call 911.

Following another virtual learning day on Tuesday, the School District of Philadelphia will return to in-person instruction on Wednesday, with all programs and activities operating as normal.

However, the district says students who arrive late due to weather-related issues will not be marked late and students who can't make it to school will be excused with a note from parents. Staff members who arrive late will be marked with an excused lateness.

The district cautions parents and legal guardians to plan for potential public transit-related delays when preparing for the morning. All yellow school bus services will proceed as normal, though there may be delays on individual routes.

🎒 Find the latest school closings in your neighborhood HERE.

Philly courts will reopen on Tuesday. All matters in the Trial Division, including remote proceedings in the Civil-Trial Division, Orphans Court, Family Court and Municipal Court that were canceled due to the snow emergency will be rescheduled by their respective court divisions.

Philadelphia trash and recycling collection was suspended on Monday and Tuesday. It will run on a two-day delay this week.

SEPTA's Metro service is operating with delays or modifications. All bus routes have been restored. All Regional Rail lines are running except for the Cynwyd Line. However, on the lines that are running, there are dozens of individual trips that have already been canceled.

Officials said riders should expect delays and cancellations. For updates, visit SEPTA's website.

New Jersey Transit bus service is running on a normal schedule, but rail lines are running on a President's Day schedule. For service updates, check njtransit.com.