Power Outage in Somerset, NJ

Freezing rain fell. A trained spotter in Basking Ridge reported 0.25 inches of radial ice accretion. Scattered power outages were reported throughout the county due to downed trees and wires caused by ice, affecting up to a couple thousand customers.

Tree limbs and wires were downed near Bunker Hill Rd. Time estimated from radar and power outage report.

Lightning struck a power pole and started a fire on Mount Vernon Rd. Time estimated from radar.

Six to eight power poles and around 10 trees were reported down in Hillsborough. Time estimated from radar.

Multiple observations of 40 to 45 mph sustained winds with higher gusts were recorded, along with widespread downed trees and power outages.

A power pole and wires were downed on Heather Dr near JFK Blvd in Somerset. Time estimated from radar.

Reports of multiple large trees and power lines down near Charlotte Ave and Maple Ave. Time estimated from radar and nearby reports.

Several downed trees and power lines along and east of Crim Rd. Time estimated from radar.

A large tree and power lines fell on Parlin Lane in Watchung. A utility pole and power lines fell across US-206 in Belle Mead.

A severe thunderstorm left a swath of wind damage across the northern third of Somerset County. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down. In Bedminster Township, the shingles and half the roof of a supermarket were torn away on Hills Drive. Trees were knocked down on both County Routes 313 and 113. A tree was also knocked down onto Interstate 287. Thirteen vehicles and four condominiums were damaged by downed trees in the township. In Bridgewater Township, U.S. Route 202/206 was closed after a downed tree pulled down wires onto the roadway. In Bernards Township, on Mountain Road, a downed tree tore a hole in the roof of one home and also damaged its deck. In Warren Township, downed trees damaged homes on Sage Drive and Church Road. A vehicle was also damaged. A wind gust of 55 mph was recorded at the Somerville Somerset Airport. Some small hail also fell from the severe thunderstorm.

A lightning strike at a Public Service Electric and Gas substation caused power outages in Branchburg Township.

A severe thunderstorm blasted across a portion of Branchburg Township at 4:25 AM EDT on the 8th. A National Weather Service storm survey indicated that damaging straight line winds of up to 70 mph occurred. These damaging winds downed power poles and numerous trees. Some of the tree tops were completely sheared off. On one property in the North Branch area of the township, 100 to 200 year old trees were split apart. Quarry Lane in the Martinsville section of the township was closed to traffic because of downed trees. On another property, a gazebo was just tossed by the damaging winds. Wind damage cut across the central part of the county into Bridgewater and Franklin Townships where several more trees and power lines were knocked down.

A severe thunderstorm blasted across a portion of Branchburg Township at 4:25 AM EDT on the 8th. A National Weather Service storm survey indicated that damaging straight line winds of up to 70 mph occurred. These damaging winds downed power poles and numerous trees. Some of the tree tops were completely sheared off. On one property in the North Branch area of the township, 100 to 200 year old trees were split apart. Quarry Lane in the Martinsville section of the township was closed to traffic because of downed trees. On another property, a gazebo was just tossed by the damaging winds. Wind damage cut across the central part of the county into Bridgewater and Franklin Townships where several more trees and power lines were knocked down.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down a couple of trees and caused isolated power outages in Branchburg Township.

A lightning strike and ensuing fire totally destroyed one Franklin Township home on Viscaya Court. Residents inside the home escaped unharmed. The fire also damaged the vinyl siding of four nearby homes. One firefighter was injured battling the blaze. Lightning strikes also caused widely scattered power outages throughout the county, mainly in the central part.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down a few trees in Franklin Township. A lightning strike took down an additional tree. About 13,000 homes and businesses lost power throughout Public Service Electric and Gas's service area.

Thunderstorms that moved through the Raritan River basin and the southern Passaic River basin during the morning of the 1st caused wind damage in Somerset County and southeast Morris County. Public Service Electric and Gas reported about 8,700 of its customers lost power, with the majority in Somerset County. Jersey Central Power and Gas reported outages in Somerset and Morris Counties. Downed trees and wires caused the suspension of commuter rail service along the Morris-Essex and Gladstone Lines that morning. Train tickets were cross honored on other means of transportation.

An unseasonably warm air mass just south of a slowly moving cold front combined to produce a few strong to severe thunderstorms across northwest New Jersey during the early evening of the 10th. About 2,200 Jersey Central Power and Light customers lost power that evening, the majority were in Warren County.

Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms developed along a weak cool front draped across northern New Jersey and northeast Pennsylvania during the late afternoon and early evening of the 10th. Strong thunderstorm wind gusts downed numerous trees and power lines, leaving about 11,000 customers without electricity mainly across Morris, Sussex, and Somerset counties. This thunderstorm also dropped small hail in Morris county.

A second cold frontal passage in as many days helped trigger strong to severe thunderstorms across the northern half of New Jersey during the evening of the 17th. Thousands of homes and businesses lost power. There were still about 1,000 homes and businesses without power in the hardest hit counties of Hunterdon, Morris and Somerset Counties on the 18th.

The gust front associated with a severe thunderstorm knocked down a couple of trees and several large tree limbs in Franklin Township. The same gust front knocked down eight poles along Somerset County Route 601 in the Blawenburg section of Montgomery Township. The road was closed through the 5th and power remained off for most of the Cherry Valley development through the fourth.

A severe thunderstorm, which rolled across Somerset County, New Jersey during the early evening of June 1st, downed trees and power lines in the Millstone area.

A line of showers and isolated thunderstroms produced damaging wind gusts mainly in the central part of Somerset County. Downed trees and power lines were reported in Hillsborough, Montgomery and Bridgewater Townships and Bound Brook Borough. In Montgomery Township, a fallen tree closed County Route 601 between Reading Boulevard and U.S. Route 206. It also cut power to traffic signals and businesses along the busy highway.

A severe thunderstorm pulled down whole trees in Bedminster Township. About 660 homes and businesses lost power in the county because of downed trees and wires during the afternoon and early evening.

A severe thunderstorm pulled down large tree limbs and wires in Hillsborough Township. About 660 homes and businesses lost power in the county because of downed trees, tree limbs and wires during the afternoon and early evening.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down several large trees in Hillsborough Township along Amwell Road near its intersection with U.S. Route 206. A few other trees were snapped and aluminum siding was torn from a couple of homes in the Majestic Knolls section of the township. Several large mats were tossed in the air. Power lines were knocked down in Hillsborough and also in Millstone Borough. About 120 homes and businesses lost power in the two municipalities and power was restored in about 90 minutes.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down large tree limbs and power lines in North Plainfield. About 20,000 Public Service Electric and Gas customers lost power because of the damaging winds and lightning in central New Jersey.

The combination of a high pressure system over nearby New England and a low pressure system moving northeast along the Eastern Seaboard produced a wintry mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain in New Jersey. While precipitation changed to plain rain by early afternoon in southern New Jersey and late afternoon in the Raritan Basin, the cold air could not be scoured from Northwest New Jersey. This caused between a quarter of an inch and half an inch of ice to accrue. Hazardous driving conditions and scattered power outages resulted. Precipitation began as snow across the region around daybreak. As warmer air moved in aloft from the southeast and south, the snow changed to plain rain along the coastal plain. Farther inland, precipitation changed to freezing rain. This change spread north to the Raritan Valley by 3 p.m. EST and throughout Northwest New Jersey by 7 p.m. EST. The change to plain rain occurred in the Raritan Valley around 4 p.m. EST, but struggled through the evening to move through Warren and Morris Counties and never reached Sussex County. Snow accumulations averaged 2 to 6 inches in the northern half of the state. Accumulations in the southern half of the state were less than two inches. Precipitation started as plain rain near the coast. Ice accretions ranged from around one-tenth of an inch in the Raritan Valley to half an inch in Sussex County. Numerous accidents were reported. Power outages were mainly restricted to Sussex County. About 2,100 homes and businesses lost power in the county with Hopatcong Borough hardest hit. Road closures and power outages because of downed poles lasted through the afternoon of the 15th in the borough. Schools were either closed or had delayed openings in the county on the 15th. Specific accumulations included 7.0 inches in Boonton (Morris County), 5.5 inches in Chatham (Morris County), 5.0 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 4.5 inches in Butler (Morris County), 4.0 inches in Newton (Sussex County), Belvidere (Warren County) and Newton (Sussex County), 3.8 inches in New Brunswick (Middlesex County), 3.5 inches in Hackettstown (Warren County), 3.0 inches in Metuchen (Middlesex County), Belle Mead (Somerset County) and Long Valley (Morris County), 1.8 inches in Ewing (Mercer County), 1.4 inches in Mount Holly (Burlington County), 1.2 inches in Somerdale (Camden County) and 1.0 inch in Freehold (Monmouth County). The low pressure system responsible for the winter storm went from near Mobile, Alabama at 7 p.m. EST on the 13th, northeast to just east of Wilmington, North Carolina at 7 a.m. EST on the 14th, near Norfolk at 1 p.m. EST on the 14th, in the lower Chesapeake Bay at 4 p.m. EST, in Delaware Bay at 7 p.m. EST on the 14th, near Hammonton, New Jersey at 10 p.m. EST on the 14th and just south of Jones Beach, New York at 1 a.m. EST on the 15th. The high pressure system that locked in the cold air near the surface retreated from Maine at 7 a.m. EST on the 14th to Nova Scotia at 7 p.m. EST on the 14th.

A severe thunderstorm tore down a few trees and power lines in Branchburg Township.

A severe thunderstorm pulled down large limbs and power lines in eastern Hillsborough and Franklin Townships and South Bound Brook Borough. A large 60 foot by 140 foot tent was destroyed in Hillsborough Township. The tent was blown down wind around 100 feet. In nearby South Bound Brook Borough, a downed tree sightly damaged one home. Public Service Electric and Gas reported about 18,000 of its customers lost power because of the severe storms in central New Jersey. Hardest hit in Somerset County were Hillsborough and Franklin Townships and South Bound Brook Borough.

A very damaging macroburst caused considerable damage in Bernards Township. Damage extended for about 3 miles into Long Hill Township in Morris County. In Bernards Township, about 50 homes were damaged, 35 vehicles were destroyed or damaged, hundreds of trees were blown down and fourteen roads were closed. No serious injuries were reported. Damage was estimated at $1.5 million dollars. Houses were damaged by either trees falling on them or the wind ripping shingles, attic vents, gutters and siding from them. A garage roof was also tore away on Valley Road. Trees up to 10 feet in diameter were knocked down. The worst property damage occurred in the Spring Ridge Development. Wind damage began near Spring Valley Boulevard and the western loop of Alexandria Way and extended east along Valley Road into Morris County. Exit 36 of Interstate 78 was closed because of downed trees. Homeowners were losing dozens of trees. Lesser wind damage also occurred in the Liberty Corner and Basking Ridge sections of the township. Power was not completely restored until the evening of the 24th.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down numerous trees and wires across the central part of Somerset County. It hit Bound Brook Borough the hardest. In Bound Brook, about 30 trees were uprooted, a dozen of which blocked roadways. Two vehicles were badly damaged by fallen trees as was one garage. Two houses suffered minor damage from fallen trees. In Somerville and Raritan, sections of U.S. Route 202 were closed because of fallen tree limbs and wires. Jersey Central Power and Light reported about 11,000 of its customers lost power in New Jersey.

A severe thunderstorm pulled down wires and caused power outages in Bridgewater Township.

A severe thunderstorm knocked over several trees and wires in Montgomery Township. One tree fell on and damaged a vehicle along U.S. Route 206. Downed wires also snarled traffic on the same roadway. The high winds blew two general aviation aircraft off the tarmac at Princeton Airport. In Hillsborough Township, penny size hail fell. Public Service Electric and Gas reported about 6,000 of its customers lost power because of the severe thunderstorms in central New Jersey.

Lightning strikes from a line of thunderstorms caused damage in Raritan and Somerville Boroughs. In Raritan, a barn burned to the ground after a lightning strike. Damage estimate was unavailable. In Somerville, the Police Department's phone system was fried and damaged after a lightning strike. It will cost $30,000 to replace the phone system. Mainly lightning strikes caused about 20,000 GPU Energy customers to lose power across eastern Pennsylvania and northern New Jersey. Cloud-to-ground strokes averaged about 3,000 per hour as this line moved through New Jersey, Delaware and the Maryland Eastern Shore.

Thunderstorms with torrential downpours, moved across the same areas in northern Somerset County and caused flash flooding along the U.S. Route 22 and Interstate 78 corridor. In North Plainfield, 3.7 inches of rain fell within two hours. This represents about a 100-year-storm. The worst flooding occurred in areas south of the second ridge of the Watchung Mountains. In North Plainfield, fire fighters waded through four feet of water to rescue people from the tops of their cars. About 50 people were rescued. The water was so deep on U.S. Route 22, that vehicles were floating and crashing into each other. U.S. Route 22 was also closed in Green Brook Township (water rose over the median) as were several other roads. Mudslides from the Watchung Square Shopping Center (along the Watchung/North Plainfield Township border) spilled across U.S. Route 22. In North Plainfield, the Stony Brook flooded Grove Street. Five additional roads were closed. Road closures also occurred in Bedminster, Branchburg and Warren Townships. In Bridgewater Township, water was two feet deep in the backyards of many homes. Storm totals included 4.00 inches in North Plainfield and 2.29 inches in Watchung. The frequent lightning and flooding rains caused about 3,000 customers to lose power. No serious injuries were reported.

A severe thunderstorm uprooted several large trees and knocked down power lines across the far southern part of Montgomery Township. Two roads were closed.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down numerous tree limbs in Somerset County, primarily across the northern half of the county. GPU Energy reported that 30,000 homes and businesses lost power in their service area in the northern half of New Jersey.