Power Outages, Downed Trees, Road Closures: See NJ Storm Aftermath

NEW JERSEY — Cleanup has started on Wednesday night’s storm that left over 100,000 New Jersey homes and businesses without power, closed roads and downed trees in some municipalities.

The powerful storm, which prompted a severe thunderstorm watch Wednesday night, dropped nearly 1.5 inches of rain and blew 60 mph winds (alongside hail and heavy rain) in some parts of the state.

The fierce winds prompted a tree to crash through a Bergen County woman’s home, causing her to sustain serious injuries. A falling tree also killed an East Orange man as he was prepping for the storm.

Other tree damage impacted NJ Transit service about 10 p.m. Wednesday night.

Rainfall Totals

Over 1.5 inches of rain fell on parts of the Garden State Wednesday night into Thursday, including in Lakewood, Toms River and Lodi.

Central and North Jersey saw between half an inch to an inch of rainfall, while South Jersey and northwestern New Jersey largely reported less than a quarter inch of precipitation.

Road Closures & Travel

Downed trees impacting Thursday morning’s commute have been reported in Morris Township, Andover and Bernards, according to NorthJersey.com.

An electrical pole fire in Montville has also closed River Road between Knoll Road and Changebridge Road, police said. Parts of Schooley's Mountain Road, Beacon Hill Road, Flocktown Road and Old Turnpike Road in Washington Township remain closed.

Chatham Borough's Memorial Park Pool is closed due to a power outage.

As of 9:25 a.m., there’s a power failure on Rt. 9 in both directions bear CR 554/Bay Avenue in Barnegat Township, according to 511NJ.org. All lanes are closed until further notice.

Power Outages

Ad of 9:15 a.m., 42,167 JCP&L customers are still without power; 748 PSE&G and 124 Atlantic City Electric customers are also in the dark Thursday morning, down from over 100,000 outages Wednesday night.

Morris County reported the highest number of outages, with 15,000 customers still in the dark Thursday morning. 3,000 customers are still without power at the shore in Ocean and Monmouth counties, though JCP&L says outages are being restored quickly, according to the Asbury Park Press.

JCP&L provides the following online resources for people experiencing a power outage:

• How to report an outage
• Outage tips and safety information
• Generator safety

If you lose power, call 1-888-LIGHTSS (1-888-544-4877) to report your outage or report it online or via text messaging. Outage information is also available on JCP&L’s 24/7 Power Center.

This is a developing story. Patch will have more information as it comes in.

Here’s the latest forecast, according to the National Weather Service:

North Jersey

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 80. Northwest wind 6 to 9 mph.

Thursday Night:
Mostly clear, with a low around 56. North wind around 9 mph.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 78. Light and variable wind.

Friday Night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 58. South wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 78. South wind 5 to 8 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.

Saturday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 71. Chance of precipitation is 80 percent. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Sunday: Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before 8 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8am and 2 p.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Sunday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 60.

Central Jersey

Thursday: Sunny, with a high near 86. Northwest wind around 10 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 63. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming north after midnight.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 79. Northeast wind around 10 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon.

Friday Night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 64. Southeast wind around 5 mph.

Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2 p.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 85. Southeast wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 a.m. Cloudy, with a low around 74. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 90. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 65.

South Jersey

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 87. West wind 5 to 10 mph.

Thursday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 63. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph after midnight.

Friday: Sunny, with a high near 80. Northeast wind around 10 mph.

Friday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. East wind around 5 mph.

Saturday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 85. South wind 5 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30 percent. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Saturday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 73. Chance of precipitation is 40 percent. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.

Sunday: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 90. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.

Sunday Night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 8 p.m. Partly cloudy, with a low around 65. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent.