Over 149,000 NJ customers still lack power — Morris and Monmouth hit hardest
⚠️Over 149,000 JCP&L and PSE&G customers had no power Saturday morning
⚠️Morris & Monmouth counties had the highest number of outages
⚠️ 50 trees came down along NJ Transit's Morris & Essex Line
Thousands of New Jersey utility customers were still without power Saturday following a strong line of thunderstorms that moved across the state Friday night.
Wind quickly picked up as the storm hit with a brief period of heavy sideways rain. It also brought down temperatures 20-30 degrees. As of 10:30 a.m. there were over 149,000 JCP&L and PSE&G, customers without power.
"This line of storms basically moved through our entire service area. It went north to south, and there are very few areas of our service area that were not affected. This was an extremely severe line of storms," JCP&L spokesman Chris Hoenig told New Jersey 101.5. "I'm sure everybody who was in its path experienced very strong winds, frequent lightning, so the damage is extensive out there. We're seeing a lot of damage to trees, broken poles."
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Morris County with over 51,000 customers without power and Monmouth County with over 39,000 were the hardest hit counties, according to the JCP&L outage map.
- Morris County: Hanover, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Morris Plains, Mount Arlington, Mount Olive, Randolph and Roxbury had the most outages.
- Monmouth County: Freehold Township, Holmdel, Howell, Manalapan, Marlboro and Middletown
Hoeing said crews restored 50,000 customers overnight into Saturday morning. 1,700 crew members are working 16 hours shifts will not stop until all customers are restored However, Hoenig could not give estimated restoration times as of 7:30 a.m. on Saturday morning.
"We will have good estimated times later today, probably sometime this afternoon. That doesn't mean that we aren't working while we set those restoration times. That is a process that is involved, so that we can give our customers the best information possible, and give them something that's going to be accurate, not throw numbers at them, and change them constantly," Hoenig said.
Hoenig said that additional line, substation and forestry crews from the company's mutual aid and contractor partners are being brought in to help with the restoration. They are rotating in-and-out to cool off the in cabs of their trucks which have coolers stocked with ice and water.
New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said there were no tornadoes Friday night despite speculation on social media.
"It was all straight-line winds, fueled by the intense heat and humidity in our atmosphere. Wind gusts probably reached 70+ mph in spots, sparking those ominous warnings from NWS and causing the widespread damage and power outages," Zarrow said.
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Residents describe destructive winds and storm damage across NJ
Comments on the National Weather Service Zarrow's Facebook pages described the storms and the impact.
"15 minutes of insane winds in Warren. Tons of trees down, widesppower outages," one person told New Jersey 101.5 about the storm.
"In Toms River it’s a pretty bad storm… wicked winds… lightning and thunder … crazy storm… I’m home but stuck in my car… my son is in Ortley and getting hit pretty bad also…
"The wind was CRAZY in Scotch Plains!!! Downed trees and downed wires causing fires," another person wrote.
Unionville Vineyards in Ringoes said it lost five "large/old trees" and called it the worst damage since Sandy.
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Fallen trees damage NJ Transit tracks
A section of the roof at the Fellowship Alliance Chapel in Medford was struck by lightning, according to the church. Firefighters from nine departments helped to prevent the flames from spreading. No one was in the church at the time.
NJ Transit suffered damage from the storm with the Morris & Essex and Jersey Coast Line both suspended as of 9:20 a.m. Saturday morning. More than 50 trees alone came down along the Morris & Essex Line and tracks were damaged.
A tree came down on wire near Broad Street in Red Bank and sperad debris across the tracks in Hoboken, according to the agency.
Wall's pump stations are without power which could decrease pressure for residents west of the Garden State Parkway and south of Route 195 who are South Monmouth Utility Authority customers.
Jackson mayor Jennifer Kuhn said several roads are closed with downed trees and wires.
More storms Saturday night?
Zarrow said there could be a second round of severe storms on Saturday afternoon as the heat wave comes to an end.
"Storm timing is a little later than Friday night, arriving around 8 or 9 o'clock. That might mean storms will be somewhat weaker as temperatures cool beyond sunset. And it could mean communities could sneak in fireworks, although it will be very close," Zarrow said.
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Video courtesy of Joseph Hewes
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Damage from Severe Thunderstorms of Friday, July 3
Gallery Credit: Dan Alexander
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