The governor announced the emergency declaration 5 p.m. Monday in anticipation of the nor'easter
TRENTON -- With the late-season storm that had paralyzed much of New Jersey on Tuesday now over, Gov. Chris Christie announced he was lifting the state of emergency designation at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
He also said state offices will reopen at their regular time Wednesday morning.
As of noon, the late-winter nor'easter had dropped heavy snow in North Jersey, sleet and snow in Central Jersey and heavy rain in South Jersey.
The governor announced the emergency declaration 5 p.m. Monday in anticipation of the nor'easter that was expected to arrive after midnight. He also closed all non-essential state offices.
Christie noted the storm was not as strong as meteorologists predicted, but advised residents to stay off the roads because the roads remained slippery.
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"For Tuesday today, stay off the road," the governor told reporters during a late-afternoon briefing Tuesday at state Department of Transportation's Bedminster Yard. "Tomorrow, we should be ready to deal with the normal rush hour traffic."
Declaring a state of emergency allows the state qualify for federal financial assistance should a storm cause costly damages. It also gives the state Office of Emergency Management the authority to close roads and make other decisions to protect public safety.
The storm, fueled by large amounts of moisture flowing up from the Gulf of Mexico, started moving into South Jersey at about 10 p.m. Monday and began dropping snow in central and northern counties a few hours before sunrise Tuesday.
Staff Writer Lenny Melisurgo contributed to this report. Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.