UPDATE: Heavy Snowstorm Creates Big Problems in Bloomfield

Bloomfield residents found Saturday's snowstorm tough going -- whether or not they lost electricity or heat.  The freak October storm that took everyone by surprise was, at best, an unwelcome interruption to their Halloween plans.  At worst, it was a danger to their lives.

"I heard that loud crackle and crash, and then the branch just smashed down on my car," recalled Bloomfield resident and Patch photographer Veronica Yankowski on Saturday afternoon. "I heard another loud one and sparks were flying.  I was like, Oh my God, there's a transformer down!"

Yamkowski, who had been hard hit by Hurricane Irene less than two months ago, was incredulous.  "I just got over the flood!  My neighbors are like, 'What's up with you and natural disasters?' " 

Yankowski said her car was undriveable, with its windows were blown out.  Fearing for the instability of the trees on her property, she and her 6-year-old daughter are staying with relatives tonight.

Elsewhere in Bloomfield, other residents reported widespread loss of electricity and heat.  Mayor McCarthy told Patch that the township has opened the Civic Center at 84 Broad Street for Bloomfield residents without heat and electricity.

Throughout the day and evening, another major problem was transportation.

Nearly every street was strewn with fallen branches, often making them impassable to cars.  The sound of breaking tree branches was frequently heard in residential areas this afternoon and evening.  Police barricades were stationed in areas with downed power lines, such as at 509 Broad Street near Bay, where a fallen power line stopped traffic.  There was also police activity blocking traffic going eastbound on Sherman Avenue near Mountainside Hospital.  Tree branches were falling on steets at such a rapid rate that motorists had a hard time avoiding them.  Said one man who was trying to get back to Montclair, "You have to drive across fallen wires on the road. There's no way of knowing whether they're live or not." 

At the Dunkin Donuts on Broad Steet, Gen Ridge resident Dasha Hrickova had been waiting for a taxi for nearly two hours, after her DeCamp bus bound for New York Ciy had been forced to drop off all passengers in Bloomfield. 

"The driver said he was stuck.  He couldn't go any further because of the trees," said Hrickova.  "He told us, 'it's better if you get off here than if you're standed in New York'." 

All NJ Transit train service suspended today because of the storm.

At Brookside Garden Center, the business of Halloween had been set aside for the emergency of the weekend as firewood, shovels, rock salt and propane gas were the hot commodities. Brookside also offered a snow plow service. (Phone: 973 743 3820).

Javier Robles and his son (also named Javier), were loading firewood into their car on Saturday, in addition to some pumpkins. "We don't have any heat in our house," said Robles, who lives in Nutley. "The power lines are down in front of our house and we think power won't be coming back any time soon."

He added that his family intended to carve pumpkins that night, power outtage or not. "We figure we will carve pumpkins by firelight tonight."

Brookside cashier Lily Cerone said residents had been in all day, taking advantage of the supply of firewood for sale.  Though the store had not experienced any problems with electricity, as she spoke, the lights flickered.  She grinned a little nervously. "We're next," she said.  "We're definitely next."

Brookside said it would be open Sunday morning.

Many residents, unprepared for the surprise storm, were scrambling to put gas in their cars before nightfall.  Ken Singh at the Lukoil gas station near CVS on the Montclair/Bloomfield border was forced to send drivers to other places. The storm "took out our pumps permanently. I have to figure out how we're going to get it back on Monday," he said.

For those seeking gas, the Exxon and BP stations on Broad Street near Bay were serving customers Saturday afternoon, while the 7/11 and Dunkin' Donuts also kept their doors open.

However, according to Broad Street resident Jeff Eaton, services have been cancelled at the Presbyterian Church on the green on Sunday.

As noted by others along Bloomfield, Lukoil's Singh said the power problems were exacerbated by the weight of the snow on tree limbs and leaves. It made the branches so heavy that they came crashing down onto the street and people's yards.

Because of treacherous driving conditions, police advised drivers to remain off the roads as much as possible.   

Paul Walker, a senior meteorologist for AccuWeather.com, that the New York metropolitan area and New Jersey will see rain with a mix of snow through Saturday night.

He said areas in New Jersey, around the Interstate 287 corridor, including Essex County, could see between 3 to 6 inches of snow. Areas further north and west of I-287 could get between 6 and 12 inches, according to Walker.

Meanwhile, utility companies in New Jersey reported more than 50,000 people without power Saturday afternoon — more than 10,000 in Essex County cities and townships, including the Caldwells, Cedar Grove, Irvington, Maplewood, Montclair, Newark, Orange, South Orange, Verona and West Orange.

If you have news of any cancellations due to the weather, or have experienced problems, please contact me at Linda@patch.com.