Snow, freezing rain pelt New Jersey roadways as winter storm causes dangerous mess

In New Jersey, the winter storm quickly turned into an icy and dangerous mess, as state officials went on high alert after declaring a state of emergency and warning drivers to stay off the roads. 

Roadways across the Garden State got pelted with heavy bands of snow, sleet and freezing rain, as the Friday evening commute went from snowy to slushy in a matter of hours. 

The state Department of Transportation announced a ban on commercial vehicles, like tractor trailers, until Saturday morning, at least. 

Slick roads were a major concern for Bergen County officials in the run up to the snowstorm. 

"We have six major hospitals here in Bergen County. We have to make sure all the roadways around those hospitals are accessible," County Executive James Tedesco said. 

While Downtown Ridgewood looked picturesque, it was far from pretty along Route 17 where there were near-whiteout conditions and even some spinouts. 

Earlier, foot traffic was steady at a supermarket in East Rutherford, where shoppers wanted to make sure they had the essentials before the big storm.

"Bread, eggs, bacon. All the basics, you know," Sonny Djonha said. 

Metro Wine and Liquors, a shop that prides itself on being open 365 days a year, said the snow might slow down its popular delivery service for one night. 

"In this weather, it seems like we're gonna shut off the delivery service because it's gonna get worse for the drivers," Jai Patel said. 

Before any snowflakes hit the pavement, a whole lot of homeowners made their seasonal pilgrimage to local hardware stores to load up on shovels and salt, if there were any left.