By Sunayana Prabhu
MONMOUTH COUNTY – A powerful blizzard buried the Jersey Shore under nearly 2 feet of heavy snow Sunday into Monday. The storm left thousands of residents without power and disrupted schools, government offices and transit service.
As crews continued to restore power in Monmouth County after the weekend blizzard, forecasters warned that another round of wintry weather could arrive later this week.
“Monmouth and Ocean counties took the brunt of this storm, where the vast majority of the 183,000 customers who were affected by this storm live,” confirmed Christopher Hoenig, senior communications representative for FirstEnergy, regarding the JCP&L outages.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill declared a state of emergency effective at noon Sunday, Feb. 22, in anticipation of the winter storm that hit the Two River area around 1 p.m. The blizzard peaked overnight with wind gusts exceeding 40 mph and ended by 3 p.m. Monday.
Downed trees, fallen wires and poor visibility created hazardous conditions. All schools in the Two River area were closed Monday and Tuesday. Government offices were closed Monday and had a delayed opening Tuesday. Statewide travel restrictions were in effect for most of Sunday and Monday.
NJ Transit suspended rail, bus and light rail services statewide Monday because of heavy snow. Most services resumed Tuesday on modified schedules. According to NJ Transit’s website, “resumption of service on these lines, along with the resumption of the local stops on the Northeast Corridor, is fully contingent upon Amtrak’s completion of their work to clear the snow from their track switches.”
Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) reported more than 160,000 power outages statewide. As of Monday morning, about 70,000 customers across the region remained without service, including approximately 25,000 in Monmouth County. According to the JCP&L website, as of Wednesday afternoon, the number of affected customers in Monmouth and Ocean counties had dropped to nearly 1,500.
“Tree and wind-related damage has been the dominant cause of outages,” Hoenig said.
From 10 p.m. Sunday through 10 p.m. Monday, more than 175,000 customers were restored, Hoenig said, noting that eight to 10 of those hours involved line work during active blizzard conditions.
He said remaining multicustomer outages were expected to be restored Tuesday, barring unexpected damage.
Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone said at least 2,300 JCP&L personnel were working in the field in coordination with municipal and county crews.
“These crews are operating in dangerous conditions, including high winds, whiteout visibility and blocked roadways,” Arnone said in a Feb. 23 statement. “Crews have worked around the clock in extremely hazardous driving and working conditions to restore power as safely and quickly as possible and will continue until all remaining customers are restored.”
A coastal flood advisory was in effect during the blizzard, particularly at high tides, but officials reported no flooding so far.
While communities begin returning to normal routines, cleanup and restoration from downed trees and wires will continue through the week. Although the blizzard moved on, winter is not done yet. Two River area residents woke up to another inch and a half of snow Wednesday morning and a few more days of light snow and flurries are expected. The National Weather Service is forecasting another chance of light rain or snow Thursday into Thursday night, when freezing rain is possible. Highs are expected near 40 Thursday and in the upper 30s Friday, with drier conditions returning by late Friday.
The article originally appeared in the February 26 – March 4, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
