Rise In Storms Is Messing With Wi-Fi In North Jersey

NORTH JERSEY — If your wi-fi or cable seemed to get disconnected more often this past summer, it may be thanks to the rise in extreme storms, says a local internet provider.

Roshad Green, the vice president of Outside Plant Operations for Optimum — which serves New Jersey and 20 other states —told Patch in an interview that even a minor weather event can cause outages.

But in one case, a dangerous weather event — a microburst in Hoboken just before summer began — caused a notable outrage earlier this year, he said. A microburst is a brief and dangerous sinking column of air, or downdraft, during a thunderstorm.

Patch reached out after the company sent four notices in two weeks about disruptions in Hudson County in the summer. Customers had asked about the outages on social media.

Green explained that when the electricity goes out in a certain part of town, it affects internet service because the service is tied to the power grid.

"We have had some crazy weather," Green said, "unseasonable heat and storms, and the power from the local utility went down. Their transformer feeds our plant in different ways. We've noticed that this past season, with the heat and storms happening, the power went down more often."

He said that this summer, the Tri-State area — New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut —experienced many more power outages than in past years.

Several Times As Many Outages

"There used to be five outages a month [in Optimum's coverage area in those states], and now there are 13 to 26 outages a month from weather impacts," he said. "It's not just us. It's any kind of provider of any type of service in 2025."

Green said that in Hoboken, for example, the Optimum "plant" is a series of fibers and coaxial cable connected to the city's power grid.

He said that in mid-June, a microburst occurred in that city that damaged a group of poles, causing a power outage. A microburst can be up to 2.5 miles wide and last five to 10 minutes.

New Jersey experienced both a heatwave and a series of thunderstorms on June 18 and 19.

"This year for weather has been crazy across she country," Green said. "We had snow in Houston and there was a flood in Connecticut. I've been in the industry since 1997. I have never seen so many weather events across the country until this year."

He said that when the power goes out in a certain area, the company can bring a generator, but they may not arrive before the disruption occurs. If the fibers in the wiring are damaged, "We have to make sure to individually splice fibers that are the size of your hair, and coordinate by color...and it just takes time. We invest heavily in the best tools, and work with the power companies."

Anyone with a continuing problem can contact their internet company to see how they can help. For Optimum, the website is here.

Meanwhile, with several storms churning in the Atlantic this week, the National Weather Service said that parts of New Jersey may get 1-2 inches of rain from late Wednesdaythroughout Thursday.