Snowstorm blankets Sea Isle City

Sea Isle City snowplow driver Collin McClory had started clearing the roads at 3 a.m. Monday and was still going strong at around noon.

“It’s not awful. It’s not the hardest work,” he assured during a short break from behind the wheel.

Although McClory wasn’t sure just how much longer he would be driving the big plow truck Monday, he guessed it wouldn’t be as grueling as the nearly 24-hour stretch he did during another snowstorm in January 2018.

“My record is 23 and a half hours,” he said.

McClory and other snowplow operators were out in force while trying to keep up with the storm that blanketed Sea Isle and other Cape May County shore communities with several inches of snow from Sunday night into Monday night.

Police Chief Anthony Garreffi, who also serves as the city’s emergency management coordinator, estimated that Sea Isle got 5 or 6 inches of snow. No official snow totals were immediately available for Sea Isle.

Garreffi said there were no reports of any major problems in town caused by the storm.

“For the most part, it looks like everyone is adhering to the State of Emergency and staying off the road,” Garreffi said of Gov. Phil Murphy’s emergency storm declaration for seven counties, including Cape May, in South Jersey.

The National Weather Service forecast called for a total of 6 to 12 inches of snow in Cape May County starting late Sunday night and continuing through Monday night before tapering off.

    The Sea Isle City lifeguard boat near the Promenade makes for a pretty picture during the storm.
  

Citing preliminary figures from the National Weather Service, nj.com reported that Ocean City had 7.4 inches of snow by Monday morning. The city of Cape May led all towns in Cape May County with 8.1 inches of snow.

For drivers who ventured out in the storm in Sea Isle, travel appeared to be relatively easy because of the efforts of the snowplow operators from the city’s Public Works Department.

“From the looks of things, they’re doing a terrific job,” city spokeswoman Katherine Custer said. “They have been giving it the full-court press for hours and hours. They have been working hard. They have every vehicle that they’ve got out in force.”

Most residents appeared to have stayed at home, which helped the snowplow operators by keeping traffic off the streets.

Local streets weren’t the only things that remained uncrowded during the storm. Parts of Sea Isle’s oceanfront Promenade were virtually deserted while the snow was falling Monday morning and afternoon.

    The city's colorful 30-foot-tall Christmas tree overlooking Excursion Park is covered with snow.
  

The downtown shopping district was also unusually quiet, with most shops appearing to be closed for the storm. The city, however, kept its municipal offices open.

The colorful leftover Christmas decorations adorning the downtown and the city’s 30-foot-tall artificial holiday tree in Excursion Park glistened with a pretty coating of snow. It was a white Christmas indeed, just a little late.

Reaching Sea Isle and other Cape May County shore points on the Garden State Parkway was something of an adventure. Although snowplows were out, the parkway was slushy in spots and there were some accidents. The parkway’s speed limit was reduced to 35 mph.

    The speed limit is reduced to 35 mph on the Garden State Parkway because of snow and ice.