Jeff Pompper, director of emergency services, says the forecast looks much better for Salem County, but residents should still be on alert.
SALEM -- Salem County's director of emergency services, Jeff Pompper, is cautiously optimistic.
"I'm feeling a lot better than 24 hours ago," Pompper said Friday. "The forecast is trending toward improvement."
Despite a steady, wind-driven rain, the county, as well as parts of Cumberland and Gloucester County, has fared well so far through the nor'easter that is lashing the state.
Add to that the prediction that Hurricane Joaquin, which once appeared to be aiming for New Jersey, is moving farther out to sea and the weather outlook appears brighter for the region.
But Pompper says the weather remains a concern.
"We want to remind the public that the forecast can still change."
As the winds from the nor'easter continue to push the water up the Delaware Bay and river, the county remains vulnerable to coastal flooding along at times of high tide in the river communities.
Pompper said Friday morning's high tide did not cause any problems. Earlier Friday he was concerned about the afternoon high tide which came and went with few reported issues. There were some roads that were partially covered with tidal waters, but they remained passable.
High tides that follow Saturday and Sunday must also be closely watched. Roadways, private homes and facilities are vulnerable to rising waters in spots along the Delaware River.
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Friday throughout several county towns, public works vehicles were on patrol looking for any flooding troubles. County public works vehicles were out, too.
One of the main problems was rain ponding on roadways from the steady rain that fell into the evening.
At the county Department of Emergency Services headquarters in Mannington Township, officials were carefully monitoring the weather.
They have been spending days preparing for this nor'easter and the possibility that Joaquin would hit here.
Pompper and others have been meeting with municipal emergency management coordinators for the past few days, making sure everything is in place in case a town needs help with flooding issues.
Two towns even took a delivery of empty sandbags from the county -- just in case.
The American Red Cross has also been involved in discussions in case there is a need for shelter to be opened for evacuees driven from their homes by floodwaters.
County nursing homes have also been in contact with Pompper discussing what would be needed should residents neeed to be evacuated because of flooding.
With heavy rains forecast, another concern has been the many dams at local lakes.
Pompper said some in charge of county lakes already lowered water levels ahead of the approaching storms as a proactive measure.
With the high winds, downed trees are also a worry, he said. The recent rain has softened the ground and gusts could uproot trees and take down power lines or block roadways.
Riverfront towns that have traditionally been flooding problem spots -- Lower Alloways Creek, Elsinboro, Pennsville, Penns Grove and Carneys Point -- will be closely watched over the next day or tow, Pompper said.
Gloucester County and Cumberland County officials were also paying close attention to the storm.
Downe Township Mayor Bob Campbell, who witnessed the horrific impact of Hurricane Sandy in his bayshore community, said Downe Township was as ready as could be for the predicted storm.
Though he expected some road flooding, it was the wind he said officials were keeping an eye on most.
"As long as the wind doesn't pick up, we should be OK," Campbell said.
In Greenwich Township, Gloucester County, planning was key to this week's storm response.
"The water is rising, but I think we're holding our own," Mayor George Shivery reported Friday evening.
The township set up pumps at the end of Floodgate Road on Thursday to help move water from the creeks back into the Delaware River. Floodgate Road was closed to non-essential vehicle traffic from the fishing pier to the riverbank until further notice, township police announced Thursday.
The only concern Shivery noted Friday involved beaver dams built up along Tomlin Station Road near Greenwich Lake. County workers were expected to come out later Friday to clear those dams.
As water flows to the Delaware River from East Greenwich, Harrison Township and as far as Glassboro, these dams can block that flow and back up behind Gibbstown following heavy rains. "We're like the funnel head for the county," Shivery explained.
In neighboring East Greenwich Township, the news was good.
"Right now, we're not having any issues," Mayor Dale Archer said late Friday afternoon. "We've been monitoring the situation all week and we were well-prepared. We will continue to monitor and alert residents in case there is a situation."
He credited his township's preparation to lessons learned from the June macroburst storm that tore through South Jersey, downing trees, causing property damage and leaving thousands without power.
Atlantic City Electric was heavily criticized for its response to that storm and promised a better performance with the current storm. The utility has expanded its efforts to communicate with customers and local officials about outages and has posted regular press releases in the last few days describing its efforts.
As of 4 p.m. Friday, the utility was reporting a total of 553 outages across its entire coverage area, with most of those centered in Cape May and Atlantic counties.
--Reporters Matt Gray and Spencer Kent contributed to this report.
Bill Gallo Jr. may be reached at bgallo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow South Jersey Times on Twitter @TheSJTimes. Find NJ.com on Facebook.