Ocean City Digs Out From Winter Storm

Ocean City awoke Friday morning to find the island covered by both snow and tidal flooding from a winter storm moving off the coast.

The region saw about six inches of snow overnight, but strong northwest winds swept some areas thin and created drifts deeper than a foot in other places.

The same winds are pushing bay water from an exceptionally high tide over some bulkheads on the bay side of Ocean City, flooding nearby streets.

The temperature on Friday is expected to remain around 15 degrees through the afternoon and fall to a low of 2 degrees on Friday night — freezing the flooded streets as the tide recedes. Wind chill values could dip to -8 with a northwest wind of 26 to 29 mph gusting up to 45 mph.

The Ocean City School District cancelled classes on Friday, and Gov. Chris Christie has declared a state of emergency for New Jersey, closing all state offices.

Most of the main thoroughfares throughout Ocean City had been plowed by Friday morning, and the Route 52 causeway was plowed and mostly clear. Many bay blocks were underwater from a spring tide that was high at 9:22 a.m. in Ocean City. The floodwaters trickled across Bay Avenue at some intersections, and widespread areas of Haven and Simpson avenues are flooded.

The Ocean City Police Department is asking all car owners to move parked cars from marked snow emergency routes (including parts of Bay and West avenues) to allow plowing.

A path on the Ocean City Boardwalk had been plowed, but deep drifts of snow remained in other areas of the boardwalk.

The strong offshore winds groomed some big surf, but early on Friday surfers had not yet hit the water.

The Ocean City Free Public Library will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday. The Ocean City Aquatics and Fitness Center opened at 10 a.m., but classes are cancelled. The Senior Center and Arts Center are closed, but the Ocean City Historical Museum is open. Ocean City Home Bank branches are closed.

Saturday's forecast calls for sun with a high of 33 degrees.