• Fuel rationed, but power’s back for many

A coastal storm some are describing as a nor’easter could hit New Jersey this coming week, bringing gusty winds, rain and possibly snow to weary residents still reeling from Hurricane Sandy.

During a phone conference on Friday afternoon, Bergen County executive Kathleen Donovan assured local officials the county’s office of emergency management is aware of the potential storm and taking steps to prepare for it.

“We’re already working on the next one,” she told a local official who was concerned plummeting temperatures could cause water pipes to burst in homes without heat and electricity since Sandy barrelled through the state on Monday night, US time.

The approaching weather system, which will not be nearly as powerful as Sandy, was expected to move into British Columbia on Friday night, work its way into the plains states on Sunday and Monday and then head southeast, turning up the coast on Tuesday night and Wednesday, said John Feerick, a senior meteorologist with Acuweather.

“The question is whether it hits New Jersey and the places that were hard hit by Sandy,” he said.

“It’s still too early to tell.”

The storm could pack winds up to 70km/h and drop between 75mm and 125mm of rain in the hardest-hit areas, Feerick said. There could be some snow along the northwestern edge of the storm, he added.

The storm could further delay efforts to restore power to those still in the dark.

Tom Raheb of Westwood said the threat of a nor’easter early next week was making him nervous.

“The lines at the liquor store are already as long as the lines at the gas station,” he said.

“I don’t know what we’re gonna do.”

AP