Power Outage in Elizabeth, NJ

Power lines were reported down due to multiple branches falling on the lines.

A microburst occurred along a line approximately 1/4 to 1/2 mile to the right of, and approximately one minute before, the tornado which tracked from near Garfield Road in Berkley Heights to near Evergreen Road in Summit New Jersey. Dozens of trees and power lines were downed along the path of this microburst, including some onto cars and houses. At its widest point, the microburst was about 500 yards wide, and lasted for just under 5 miles.

Trees, wires and a power pole were downed in Linden. Winds of 51 miles per hour were recorded at the airport in Linden.

As a strong area of low pressure moved along the Saint Lawrence River Valley, its' associated cold front traversed Northeast New Jersey early on the morning of Wednesday, October 15th. This system strengthened during the day as it moved across Southeast Canada. Meanwhile, high pressure moved from the Southern Plains across to the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic states as the day progressed. The difference in pressure between the departing low and the approaching high resulted in a persistent strong wind that reached 40 MPH sustained at 241 am and gusted as high as 49 MPH at 1235 pm at Newark Liberty International Airport.There were widespread reports of damage from these winds that were obtained primarily from the print media as well as from Skywarn spotters. Here are selected wind damage reports:A tree was downed on Monroe Street at Lawrence Avenue in Rahway that also dragged down power lines resulting in a loss of power for the traffic light at the aforementioned intersection.Numerous trees and large tree limbs were downed in Rutherford, North Arlington, and Lyndhurst. A Department of Public Works employee suffered a minor injury when a large branch fell on him in North Arlington. Downed trees and wires blocked Woodland Avenue near Daniel Street and portions of Wood Street. There were also 5 reports of large branches that fell on cars.A tree fell onto the roof of a Canterbury Lane house, punching a 6 inch hole in the roof. Power lines were reported downed on South Terrace and a tree fell across the sidewalk on Millburn Avenue.A large tree fell on several parked cars in Saddle Brook.A large tree was uprooted, and took down a telephone pole and power lines as it fell on Hartley Place in Fairlawn. Several other trees were downed in this neighborhood, including one that fell on a house on Saint Anne's Street.

On Friday, August 10th, a strong cold front moved east across northern New Jersey during the afternoon hours, preceded and accompanied by several lines of strong thunderstorms. The cold front, which separated oppressively hot and humid air from significantly cooler and drier air, combined with very unstable atmospheric conditions to produce rapid and intense thunderstorm development during the early afternoon hours. Strong wind gusts accompanied the thunderstorms, tearing some trees down, which subsequently fell onto power lines and led to scattered power outages. In Bergen County, several trees were downed due to strong wind gusts in the vicinity of North Arlington. Some trees were also downed in Union County near New Providence. Heavy rain also led to widespread ponding of water on roadways and highways, making travel difficult.

On Sunday, July 1st, a strong cold front approached northern New Jersey from the northwest during the late afternoon hours. As this front clashed with a warm, moist and very unstable air mass already in place, strong to locally severe thunderstorms developed and moved east-southeast across portions of northeast New Jersey. Damaging winds in excess of 50 mph caused numerous large trees to topple, and led to scattered power outages. Fallen trees also caused several road closures, particularly from Roselle to Linden in Union County. In Linden, a large tree fell onto an occupied car. Fortunately, the occupant escaped without injury. Frequent cloud to ground lightning strikes also accompanied these thunderstorms.

On Monday evening, May 21st, a warm front was located across the Delmarva region, and was moving slowly north. This front extended well east of an intense low pressure system centered over the western Great Lakes. Meanwhile, a strong high pressure system was located in the Canadian Maritimes. A tight pressure gradient developed between the approaching warm front and the strong high pressure system. This created a rather narrow band of strong winds across portions of northeast New Jersey Monday evening, into the early morning hours of Tuesday, May 22nd. Winds averaged 30 to 35 mph for several hours, with occasional gusts reaching or slightly exceeding 50 mph, across portions of Union County during this period. These strong winds, combined with occasionally heavy rain, toppled large tree limbs onto power lines, producing scattered power outages.