VINELAND — The City of Vineland Office of Emergency Management on Friday afternoon issued a blizzard warning and advisory for the greater Vineland area.

The advisory not only includes precautionary information but also advice on how to remain in contact with officials as a major winter show storm approaches and advances through the area.

According to weather authorities, the storm is likely to be most severe in Cape May and Cumberland Counties where upwards of two feet or more of snow is possible, with hgh winds contributing to blizzard conditions. The central and northern portions of New Jersey are expected to get much less snow, as the coastal storm heads trough this area on a northeast track.

Here is the information from Vineland Emergency Management officials:

BLIZZARD WARNING

The national Weather Service has posted a blizzard warning for South Jersey

including the City of Vineland. This blizzard warning is in effect from

Friday at 4:00 p.m. to Saturday at 7:00 p.m.

Snow accumulation totals for the Vineland area may be 24" or greater with

strengthening winds as the storm progresses. Blowing and drifting snow will

reduce visibility to under one-quarter of a mile at times.

Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibility will make

travel extremely dangerous.

In anticipation of this storm, the City of Vineland and the Office of

Emergency Management intends to declare a state of emergency at midnight on

Friday night. This state of emergency is anticipated to remain in effect for

a 24 hour period ending at midnight on Saturday night. This may be revised

or extended depending on storm intensity, snowfall totals and the status and

condition of the roadways throughout the city.

City Ordinance 694-52 prohibits parking on the following streets during a

snow emergency:

Chestnut Ave. between Delsea Dr. and Main Rd.

East Ave. between Chestnut Ave. and Park Ave.

East Boulevard between Chestnut Ave. and Park Ave.

Elmer St. -Entire length

Landis Ave. between Delsea Dr. and Main Rd.

Park Ave. between Delsea Dr. and Main Rd.

West Ave. between Chestnut Ave. and Park Ave.

West Boulevard between Chestnut Ave. and Park Ave.

Wood St. - Entire length

Failure to remove vehicles from these designated roadways may result in the

vehicle being towed at the owner's expense. These parking restrictions are

put into effect in order to allow the Public Works Department to clear the

snow from the roadways, curb line to curb line.

All residents throughout the city are encouraged to park all vehicles in

off-street parking or driveways to allow the Public Works Department to

complete the snow removal operations efficiently and effectively.

Driving conditions are anticipated to be extremely dangerous during this

storm due to blowing and drifting snow and poor visibility. The Office of

Emergency Management advises all residents to stay at home and off the

roadways. Travel should be limited to essential personnel only. Doctors,

Nurses, Health Care workers, Emergency Services workers, etc. with

employment obligations to critical facilities.

Vehicles found stuck in the snow or abandoned on roadways may be ticketed

and towed at the owner's expense.

Residents are encouraged to prepare in advance of the storm and stock up on

essential supplies. FEMA offers winter storm preparation information tips at

their ready.gov web-site.

Residents may obtain storm information from the Office of Emergency

Management by signing up for the following web based services.

Nixle.com - this a community notification web site utilized by the City

of Vineland Office of Emergency Management to advise residents of severe

weather conditions and other emergency information. Residents are encouraged

to log on to the web site and follow the directions to sign up to receive

e-mail or text message alerts via cell phone. There is no charge for this

notification service.



Twitter.com - Residents can receive short messages via computer or by

linking their cell phone to receive text updates from twitter. The Vineland

Office of Emergency Management posts "tweets" advising residents of severe

weather conditions and other emergency information. Links to web pages with

more detailed information are often attached to these "tweets". Residents

should go to twitter.com. Once logged on, go to the "find people" icon.

Enter Vineland OEM see the latest posting and info from the Vineland Office

of Emergency Management.