Update (5:45 p.m.) Winds Topple 70 Foot Tree onto House, Schools Closed as Storm Continues

The winter storm battering the New York metropolitan region toppled a 70 foot oak tree onto a private residence on the 700 block of Embree Crescent around midnight, as the public schools are closed for the day.

Fire Chief Dan Kelly reported that the fire department has responded to five storm related calls between 5:30 p.m. on Thursday and 7:30 a.m. on Friday. The fallen tree came from the backyard of a empty lot where a house had been demolished earlier this week. The tree caused damage to the roof and siding of the house next door along with crushing a fence separating the two properities. The electrical system of the house next door was impacted by the tree crash. Kelly said the occupants of theh house that was hit were not injured in the crash.

Roughly a foot of snow has dropped on Westfield in the storm. The measurement on the high school lawn came in at a foot, while the back field of Tamaques School was 11 inches. Mindowaskin Park came in at seven inches of snow. The storm started as wet snow and slush on Thursday with heavier snow starting in the evening hours.

Roads remained driveable around towns with the roads clearing more as the day went on. Main roads have been the clearest around town with secondary roads varying based on location. Many side streets remained covered in snow and tough to drive on. The intersection of Boulevard and Tudor Oval was unplowed causing some cars to become stuck coming on and off Tudor Oval.

Foot traffic in the downtown picked up in the afternoon, with residents coming out in the afternoon sun to enjoy Restaurant Week and  a break from the snow. Sledders were cramming the hill in front of Wilson School, while many enjoyed a walk in the winter wonderland. A lone cross country skier was heading along Lawrence Avenue, after gliding through the Watchung Fork neighborhood. He reported the melting roadways causing tougher skiing conditions.

The winds and heavy wet snow caused some power lines on Springfield Avenue to come down causing a power outage on a small part of the north side of town in the midle of the night. Springfield Avenue was closed for six hours to allow PSE&G to repair the downed lines.

The fire department responded to an electrical fire in a single family residence on the 100 block of Ludlow Place on Thursday evening. The fire was extinguished and contained to the first floor of the house. Shortly before 1 p.m. on Friday, the fire department responded to a minor basement fire on the 100 block of Jefferson Avenue, in which the resident received burns. The victims was transported to Overlook Hospital for evaluation.

The Westfield Rescue Squad responded to three calls during the night and early morning hours. This included transporting one patient to Overlook Hospital. Lynn Feldman, the squad captain, had difficulty reporting to the squad's South Avenue Circle headquarters and received police transportation to the headquarters. The squad reported full staffing during the storm.

Holy Trinity School is closed for the day and the public schools are taking their third snow day this month. The wrestling tournament scheduled for Friday has been moved to Saturday.

The heavy wet snow caused slush conditions through town on Thursday, including large puddles on sidewalks and streets, with the schools closing early to allow students to head home before what was expected to be heavier accumulations on Thursday afternoon. Thursday's conditions caused tough driving conditions on secondary roads throughout town. High winds were causing white out conditions during the night.

New Jersey Transit suspended bus service in the northern and central parts of the state for part of the day. The mass transit agency said it will be cross honoring all train, bus and light rail tickets systemwide. This will be going through 5 a.m. on Saturday morning. There have been numerous flight cancellations ar Newark Liberty International Airport, along with other area airports, causing a backlog in air travel nationwide.

The Department of Public Works asks all residents to keep their cars off the roads in order to allow for the easier removal of snow from the streets. The DPW starts with main roads before moving to secondary roads and side streets.

This is the second blizzard to hit Westfield this month. The first, just before Valentines Day, blanketed Westfield with 17.5 inches of snow, the highest total of snow for any community in the metropolitan region. The blizzard caused two snow days for public school students in town.

The National Weather Service has extended the winter storm warning for the region to 6 a.m. on Saturday. The storm is sitting on top of the metropolitan region, forming a cyclone like effect over the region. The storm is expected to move counter clockwise from the Hudson Valley into New Jersey and then back over to Long Island before repeating the action.

The heaviest snow is expected to hit Rockland and Orange Counties. Harriman, NY in Orange County has received close to two feet of snow since Thursday. Morris County is expected to receive the heaviest snow totals in New Jersey.