N.J. Turnpike Western Spur Reopens After Dense Fog Prompts Partial Closure

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The recent rise in temperatures was a welcome reprieve from the brutal cold, but it's also brought with it rapidly melting snow and dense fog which shut down a stretch of southbound lanes on the Western Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike early Saturday.

With the thick fog hanging low across much of the area, commuters  from New York to the New Jersey Turnpike were less than pleased.

READ: Fog Shuts Down Part Of N.J. Turnpike, Brings Major Delays To Airports

"It's been crazy," Massachusetts resident Patti Henriques said. "I don't know what it was. I thought it was an accident."

The Western Spur of the Turnpike was shut down in both directions late Friday, which is incredibly rare.

"I'm from Philadelphia," driver Tamiko Ward told CBS2. "I'm like, what the heck is going on?"

The backup was so bad, some spent hours just to travel a few miles.

"This is the first time I've seen it shut down," Harlem resident Sonia Sharif said.

As a result, the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, and the Port Authority Bus Terminal saw corresponding delays. The wavering weather created a travel nightmare across the board.

Meanwhile, the low clouds led some arriving flights at John F. Kennedy International Airport to be delayed by an average of 5 hours and 12 minutes in the early evening. Some departing flights were delayed by an average 5 hours and 5 minutes.

The delays come at the end of a messy several days at JFK, during which a a snowstorm created days of chaos, a water pipe burst in Terminal 4, and numerous travelers were left with their bags nowhere to be found.

Some arriving flights at Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed by 2 hours and 27 minutes in the early evening, while some departing flights there were delayed by 2 hours and 14 minutes.

Friday was also a difficult day for Newark Airport. Earlier in the day, a manhole fire outside the airport forced officials to evacuate a section of Terminal C.

At LaGuardia Airport, some arriving flights were delayed an average of 2 hours and 52 minutes, while some departing flights were delayed by an average of 2 hours and 14 minutes in the early evening.

By 11 p.m., delays at JFK had been reduced to one hour, Newark 2 hours and 27 minutes, and LaGuardia 15 minutes or less.

The fog was seen all around the area. Around dusk along the Hudson River, the fog was almost lying on top of the water. A similar scene was seen on the East River earlier in the day.

While the weather made for some good pictures, it caused a lot of other headaches.

Thousands of people lost power in Bergen, Hudson, and Middlesex Counties after the salty, snowy slush on the grounds got into equipment, according to PSE&G.

Back at the Lombardi Rest Stop, the fog almost looked like smoke rising from the dirty snow.