Power Outage in Toms River, NJ

Trees and power lines down in Brick. Time estimated from radar.

A tornado formed from along an eastward moving rotating supercell within a line of thunderstorms and made initial touchdown near Patterson road, off of West Commodore Road, in Jackson Township and continued east for approximately a 3/4 mile long and 200 yard width path across the residences on the north side of Stonehenge Ct and along West Commodore Blvd, before going across the residences and businesses across Wright Debow and Hamilton Rd. Dozens of large hardwood and softwood trees were snapped or uprooted in a convergent pattern, power poles downed or snapped, fences demolished, and sheds, small outbuildings, and dumpsters flipped or moved. Despite the significant tree damage, generally only minor siding and roof shingle damage was noted. This damage was consistent with EF1 winds of 90 to 110 mph. ||The tornado then likely strengthened to its greatest intensity as it continued east, across a cleared and paved area, to a newly built large warehouse development. The southern half of the warehouse, made up of several 3 story concrete pre-fab tilt-up |walls, both on the east and west side, tied together with metal roofing system above, collapsed in an eastward direction. Based on the degree of damage and construction this was determined to be high end EF2 winds of 120 to 130 mph. In addition dozens of hard and soft wood trees on the south and southeast side of the building and east side parking lot were uprooted or trunks snapped laying in a E/NE direction. ||The tornado continued on, now in an east southeast direction, for about 3/4 mile with about 200 yd path width, just north of GasTime, across Diamond Road and back along West Commodore road, and into the residences around Indiero Lane and Oaktree Lanes. The most extensive tree and powerline damage was seen along West Commodore Road, with hundreds of mature hard and soft wood trees uprooted or snapped in a convergent pattern, numerous power poles downed or snapped, as well as roofing and insulation debris from the warehouse being littered along the way. The tree damage along part of West Commodore Road was consistent with winds of 100 to 120 mph. The tornado appeared to be weakening to EF0 as it entered the residences around Indiero Lane and Oaktree Lanes, south of West Commodore, with the tree damage path becoming scattered and narrowing to 100 yards, and only minor siding and roof shingle damage noted. The tornado likely occluded just before reaching the|Land O Pines Mobile Home Park, where the tornado path ended.

A tornado formed from along an eastward moving rotating supercell within a line of thunderstorms and made initial touchdown near Patterson road, off of West Commodore Road, in Jackson Township and continued east for approximately a 3/4 mile long and 200 yard width path across the residences on the north side of Stonehenge Ct and along West Commodore Blvd, before going across the residences and businesses across Wright Debow and Hamilton Rd. Dozens of large hardwood and softwood trees were snapped or uprooted in a convergent pattern, power poles downed or snapped, fences demolished, and sheds, small outbuildings, and dumpsters flipped or moved. Despite the significant tree damage, generally only minor siding and roof shingle damage was noted. This damage was consistent with EF1 winds of 90 to 110 mph. ||The tornado then likely strengthened to its greatest intensity as it continued east, across a cleared and paved area, to a newly built large warehouse development. The southern half of the warehouse, made up of several 3 story concrete pre-fab tilt-up |walls, both on the east and west side, tied together with metal roofing system above, collapsed in an eastward direction. Based on the degree of damage and construction this was determined to be high end EF2 winds of 120 to 130 mph. In addition dozens of hard and soft wood trees on the south and southeast side of the building and east side parking lot were uprooted or trunks snapped laying in a E/NE direction. ||The tornado continued on, now in an east southeast direction, for about 3/4 mile with about 200 yd path width, just north of GasTime, across Diamond Road and back along West Commodore road, and into the residences around Indiero Lane and Oaktree Lanes. The most extensive tree and powerline damage was seen along West Commodore Road, with hundreds of mature hard and soft wood trees uprooted or snapped in a convergent pattern, numerous power poles downed or snapped, as well as roofing and insulation debris from the warehouse being littered along the way. The tree damage along part of West Commodore Road was consistent with winds of 100 to 120 mph. The tornado appeared to be weakening to EF0 as it entered the residences around Indiero Lane and Oaktree Lanes, south of West Commodore, with the tree damage path becoming scattered and narrowing to 100 yards, and only minor siding and roof shingle damage noted. The tornado likely occluded just before reaching the|Land O Pines Mobile Home Park, where the tornado path ended.

A tornado formed along an eastward moving rotating supercell within a line of thunderstorms and made an initial touchdown on the north side of Palomino Drive. A 100 yard wide path of dozens of large hardwood and softwood trees were snapped or uprooted in a convergent east to northeast pattern between the north side of |Palomino Drive and the high tension powerlines paralleling to the north. In addition to the extensive tree damage, numerous fences were demolished with moderate roof and shingle damage to houses on the north side of Palomino Drive. The path of tree damage continued east southeast, across N New Prospect Rd, and along the north and northeast periphery of the newly built Paragon apartment complex. The degree of tree and home damage is consistent with winds of 100-120 mph. ||The tornado continued east southeast down to the intersection of Larsen Road and Maplewood Place. Several large hard and soft wood trees were snapped or uprooted in a convergent pattern, and power poles downed, on either side of Larsen at this intersection. The tornado tracked east southeast across the residences along the |east side of Maplewood and the northeast section of Dogwood Rd, with about a 150 yd width path of dozens of large trees snapped or uprooted in a convergent pattern, power poles downed or snapped, fences demolished, and sheds flipped or moved. Despite the |significant tree damage, generally only minor siding and roof shingle damage was noted. This damage was consistent with EF1 winds of 90 to 110 mph. The tornado likely moved southeast from here across a shallow NE to SW cleared valley area along the Monmouth/Ocean county border with transmission lines running through. No damage was noted to the transmission lines or the metal truss towers.||The tornado then likely strengthened to its greatest intensity as it continued east southeast from the clearing to the residences on the southwest corner of Spicy Pond Rd. Numerous large trees snapped or uprooted in a 300 yd long and 150 yd wide |convergent pattern, fences demolished, and several houses having minor to moderate siding, gutter, awning, deck and roof shingle damage. The worst damage occurred to a house facing to the southwest on the southwest corner of Spicy Pond Road, whose whole roof was lifted and tossed into their backyard and immediate neighbor backyards. Some of the debris, including a larger roof rafter was lofted about 125 yards, impaling the roof and second floor of a house on the east side of Addison Road. In addition, some siding from the house was impaled into the siding of the neighboring house to the north, with insulation and siding debris littering the neighborhood for about 200 yds to to the east southeast. Based on the degree of damage and construction this was determined to be EF2 wind damage of 110-120 mph. The tornado |likely quickly occluded after passing Addison Rd, ending its short path.

Trees were downed onto wires causing over 100 customers to lose power. Time estimated from radar.

Power lines were downed near Oak Ave. Time estimated from radar.

Several reports of downed wires and power outages in the Island Heights area. Time estimated from radar.

Several reports of downed tree limbs and power lines in this area. Time estimated from radar.

Several reports of downed trees and power lines with numerous power outages in the Toms River area. Time estimated from radar.

Several reports of downed trees and power lines in the Island Heights area. Time estimated from radar.

Tree limbs and power lines were downed near Burnside St in the Lakehurst area. Time estimated from radar.

Power lines were downed in the Crestwood Village area. Time estimated from radar.

Power lines were downed near Lacey Rd in Roosevelt City. Time estimated from radar.

A trained spotter estimated 60 mph winds along with penny size hail and power outages. Time estimated from radar.

Downed power lines near Whitesville Road. Time estimated from radar.

Downed power lines reported in Beach Haven. Time estimated from radar.

Numerous reports of trees and power lines down in Toms River. Time estimated from radar.

Several reports of downed trees and power lines near Whiting. Time estimated from radar.

Considerable damage occurred in Toms River with numerous reports of downed trees and power lines and some property damage. There were several reports and some videos of what appeared to be gustnadoes in the area, with the actual damage caused by the strong winds associated with the squall line which they preceded.

A broad area of low pressure extending from the Ohio Valley to the Piedmont of South Carolina consolidated off the Virginia Capes during the early morning of March 7th. This new, primary low moved Northeast and gradually deepened as it moved East of the Delaware and New Jersey Coasts on March 7th.||Precipitation gradually overspread the region during the overnight hours of March 6th to the 7th. To the East of the NJ Turnpike/Interstate 95, precipitation began as rain or a mix of rain and snow. Further West, precipitation fell mainly as snow. During the daylight hours of the 7th, precipitation to the East of the NJ Turnpike/Interstate 95 turned over to snow, as colder air worked in from the North and West.||The snow fell heavy at times West of the New Jersey Coast. Snowfall amounts near the Turnpike generally ranged from 6 to 12 inches, with a sharp decrease to the Southeast. Further Northwest, 12 to 24 inches was observed across large parts of Somerset, Hunterdon, Morris, and Sussex Counties.||The snow contained large amounts of liquid, making it heavy and wet. This resulted in trees, limbs, and wires down, leading to numerous power outages across portions of New Jersey.||There were numerous reports of lightning associated with the precipitation in New Jersey, mainly to the Southeast of the Turnpike. This included thunderstorms with heavy rainfall closer to the coast, and thunder with heavy snowfall further inland. ||In Ocean County New Jersey, a lightning strike lead to a house fire in Ship Bottom.

A broad area of low pressure extending from the Ohio Valley to the Piedmont of South Carolina consolidated off the Virginia Capes during the early morning of March 7th. This new, primary low moved Northeast and gradually deepened as it moved East of the Delaware and New Jersey Coasts on March 7th.||Precipitation gradually overspread the region during the overnight hours of March 6th to the 7th. To the East of the NJ Turnpike/Interstate 95, precipitation began as rain or a mix of rain and snow. Further West, precipitation fell mainly as snow. During the daylight hours of the 7th, precipitation to the East of the NJ Turnpike/Interstate 95 turned over to snow, as colder air worked in from the North and West.||The snow fell heavy at times West of the New Jersey Coast. Snowfall amounts near the Turnpike generally ranged from 6 to 12 inches, with a sharp decrease to the Southeast. Further Northwest, 12 to 24 inches was observed across large parts of Somerset, Hunterdon, Morris, and Sussex Counties.||The snow contained large amounts of liquid, making it heavy and wet. This resulted in trees, limbs, and wires down, leading to numerous power outages across portions of New Jersey.||There were numerous reports of lightning associated with the precipitation in New Jersey, mainly to the Southeast of the Turnpike. This included thunderstorms with heavy rainfall closer to the coast, and thunder with heavy snowfall further inland. In Ocean County New Jersey, a person was struck by lightning at the middle school in Manchester Township.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down numerous trees in Toms River Township. Nearly half of all of the 26,200 outages in Jersey Central Power and Light's service area in Ocean County occurred within the township. There were forty-three downed trees, forty-four separate reports of downed wires and/or poles, two blown transformers and over a dozen reports of property damage throughout the township. On the morning of the 8th, there were still about 11,000 customers throughout Ocean County that did not have their power restored.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down numerous trees in Brick Township. A Weatherflow mesonet site measured a wind gust of 78 mph. About 3,000 homes and businesses lost power in the township.

Lightning strikes caused several power outages in the Seaside Heights area.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down hundreds of trees and tree limbs in Brick Township and cause property damage to dozens of properties. The Forge Pond, Birchwood Park and Mantaloking neighborhoods were hardest hit. Downed trees (some damaging homes) were reported on Leeswing Drive, Chambers Bridge Road, Sprucewood Drive and Ashwood Drive. The hospital in Brick had to run on emergency generator power for hours after power was lost. A cooling center was also opened in the township.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down hundreds of trees and tree limbs in Brick Township and cause property damage to dozens of properties. The Forge Pond, Birchwood Park and Mantaloking neighborhoods were hardest hit. Downed trees (some damaging homes) were reported on Leeswing Drive, Chambers Bridge Road, Sprucewood Drive and Ashwood Drive. The hospital in Brick had to run on emergency generator power for hours after power was lost. A cooling center was also opened in the township.

Lightning struck four homes in Toms River Township, but caused little structural damage. The lighting caused about 2,000 JCP&L customers to lose power in ten municipalities within Ocean County.

A severe thunderstorm caused wind damage that was concentrated in the Crestwood Village development in Whiting in Manchester Township. About a dozen large trees were uprooted and damaged two homes. A number of large tree limbs were also knocked down. It was estimated that about eighty properties were affected by downed trees. One person was trapped within their home until the tree was removed. Trees and tree limbs were knocked down on Columbus Boulevard, Crockett Lane, Ironside Drive, Constitution Boulevard and Chestnut Avenue. A firefighter was injured while removing a downed tree. About 500 homes and businesses lost power in Ocean County.

A lightning strike caused two pole fires and power outages on Long Beach Island in Harvey Cedars. The same thunderstorm produced some poor drainage flooding.

The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station was forced to shut power generation down after lightning strikes in the Lacey Township area caused outages.

A line of showers with damaging winds knocked down a few trees and power lines across northeast Ocean County. About 3,000 homes and businesses lost power from Toms River northwest into the New Jersey State Route 70 corridor.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down numerous trees and wires from Stafford Township north through Barnegat Township into Toms River Township. Stafford Township alone responded to twenty-six separate weather related calls. Many of the calls were about downed power lines, but there were also dozens of trees uprooted. A couple of downed trees damaged homes and vehicles. In Barnegat Township, downed trees and wires blocked roadways for up to two hours. In Toms River Township, trees and wires were also knocked down. This included the intersection of Hooper Avenue and New Jersey State Route 37. Power was restored to all by the night of the 27th, with only 66 homes and businesses still without power on the 28th.

A fairly solid line of showers and thunderstorms rolled through Ocean County during the afternoon of the 31st, well ahead of an advancing cold front. Some of the thunderstorms turned locally severe, with damaging winds which knocked down trees and power lines in Baregat and Stafford Townships at about 2:20 PM EDT.

A squall line of strong to severe thunderstorms knocked down several trees and power lines in Waretown (Ocean Township), Toms River (Dover Township), Berkeley, Manchester and Jackson Townships. In Berkeley Township, a downed tree damaged a home. In Toms River, a trampoline was tossed onto a roadway. The Silver Bay Elementary School was forced to run on generator power because of a power outage. About 500 homes and businesses lost power.

A severe thunderstorm tore down large tree limbs and wires in Manchester Township. About 300 homes and business lost power in the township. The combination of lightning and damaging winds caused about 800 homes and businesses to lose power in the county.

A severe thunderstorm tore down numerous trees, tree limbs and wires in and around Berkeley Township and Beachwood Borough. The most concentrated reported wind damage within Berkeley Township was in the Holiday City area. About 40,000 homes and businesses lost power.

Following a more than two week stretch of dry weather, a cold front approached the mid-Atlantic on May 26. Ahead of the front, an unseasonably hot and humid air mass developed, with high temperatures near to above 90 degrees in much of the region. This contributed to strong instability, while wind shear was more moderate. Multiple rounds of convection affected the region, triggered by a pre-frontal trough and a couple of upper level impulses ahead of the front. A fairly widespread severe weather event resulted, with damaging winds by far the most widespread hazard. Numerous instances of downed trees and power lines and some property damage were reported. Thunderstorms during the evening hours were also prolific lightning producers. The final round of storms finally moved offshore close to midnight after several hours of severe weather in the region.

Strong low pressure moved through the Great Lakes on November 15, 2020. As it did so, it pushed a warm front through the mid-Atlantic during the late morning and early afternoon hours, causing unseasonably warm conditions to develop. Strong mid and upper level dynamics associated with this low pressure caused linear convection to develop ahead of its associated cold front early in the day. While instability ahead of the front was very limited, the strong frontal forcing combined with extreme wind fields allowed two primary lines of convection to form and produce severe convective wind gusts as they moved east. One of these lines tracked into the eastern mid-Atlantic and towards the coast during the evening hours. It produced widespread wind gusts of around 60 mph, with a number of reports of downed trees and power lines and localized property damage across the region.

A derecho developed just southeast of Lake Erie during the early morning hours of June 3, 2020, then moved rapidly southeast across Pennsylvania before exiting the central New Jersey coast during the early afternoon hours, approximately 130 PM. Damaging winds in excess of 60 MPH were sporadic over western and central Pennsylvania, but as the thunderstorm complex moved into increasingly unstable air in the eastern part of the state just before noon, wind damage reports became more numerous and widespread. Most of these reports were confined within a 50-mile wide swath extending from Berks County eastward to the Philadelphia metro area, then further east to the Ocean County shoreline in New Jersey. Wind gust reports between 60 and 70 MPH were common within this swath, with some of the highest gusts as follows: 89 MPH in Beach Haven, 87 MPH in Brick (both in Ocean County), 76 MPH in Brielle (Monmouth County), and 67 MPH in Jacksonville (Burlington County). In addition to these destructive wind gusts, frequent to continuous cloud to ground lightning and heavy downpours were also reported throughout the area.||Over 112,000 power outages were reported in southern New Jersey as a result |of fallen trees on power lines. Some localities were without power for several days. ||Because this derecho moved off the coast by 200 PM, the warm afternoon sun was able to sufficiently destabilize the atmosphere for the formation of another round of severe thunderstorms over some of the same areas that experience them earlier in the day. Reported wind gusts associated with these thunderstorms generally ranged between 45 and 65 MPH, with a 65 MPH wind gust measured at the Philadelphia International Airport. The remaining thunderstorms then moved offshore by 1000 PM, which brought an end to the day's severe weather.

A broad area of low pressure extending from the Ohio Valley to the Piedmont of South Carolina consolidated off the Virginia Capes during the early morning of March 7th. This new primary low moved northeast and gradually deepened as it passed east of the Delaware and New Jersey coasts on March 7th.||Precipitation gradually overspread the region during the overnight hours of March 6th to the 7th. To the east of the NJ Turnpike/Interstate 95, precipitation began as rain or a mix of rain and snow. Further west, precipitation fell mainly as snow. During the daylight hours of the 7th, precipitation to the east of the NJ Turnpike/Interstate 95 turned over to snow, as colder air worked in from the north and west. ||The snow fell heavy at times away from the coast. Snowfall amounts near the Turnpike generally ranged from 6 to 12 inches, with a sharp decrease to the southeast. Further northwest, 12 to 24 inches was observed across large parts of Somerset, Hunterdon, Morris, and Sussex Counties.||The snow contained large amounts of liquid, making it heavy and wet. This resulted in downed trees, limbs, and wires, leading to numerous power outages across portions of New Jersey, especially where the heaviest snow was reported. Many customers were still without power from the previous storm when this storm struck. Governor Murphy estimated about 350,000 customers state-wide lost power as a result of this second storm.||There were numerous reports of lightning associated with the precipitation in New Jersey, mainly southeast of the Turnpike. This included thunderstorms with heavy rainfall closer to the coast, and thunder with heavy snowfall further inland. In Ocean County, a person was struck by lightning in Manchester Township, and a lightning strike led to a house fire in Ship Bottom.||Governor Phil Murphy declared a state of emergency which went into effect at 8 PM Tuesday March 6th.||Flights were cancelled at all the major airports due to the storm, and Amtrak cancelled at least some Wednesday service.||An accident involving ten tractor-trailers closed all four lanes of the New Jersey bound span of the Delaware Memorial Bridge for over two hours on Wednesday, March 7th. Large amounts of snow that accumulated in a short period of time was blamed for the crash. The trucks did not actually crash into each other, rather they got stuck in the snow as they were climbing the ramp on the east-bound bridge.||Minor flooding was reported along some portions of the New Jersey coast, particularly north of Atlantic City, but there were no major problems.

A strong low pressure system moved up the east coast producing heavy rain and strong winds. The strong winds took down trees in Littleton, Riverton, Wantage, Byram, Culvers inlet, Matawan, Southhampton, Springdale and Pleasant Valley. Most of these locations are in the northern portions of the state. Power outages did occur as a result of downed trees and wires across the state. Rainfall totals were over 2 inches in every county of New Jersey outside of the New York City area. The highest totals were at 5.42 inches in Princeton, 5.45 inches in Holiday City and 4.62 inches in Robeling. Thousands of people lost power due to the storm. Gusts in most locations toped out between 40 and 50 mph. Several gusts over 50 mph were reported in Ocean county near the shore and at High point.

A hot and humid airmass with weak boundaries led to slow moving strong to severe thunderstorms with damaging winds, hail and flooding. Over 2,000 people lost power.

A stalled frontal boundary was the focus for several rounds of thunderstorms that produced damaging winds and flooding in spots. Several thousand people lost power throughout the state.

A hot and humid airmass was present ahead of a frontal boundary which slowly moved southeast toward and then through the state. Several rounds of thunderstorms moved through the region ahead of this front over the course of a few days. 2,800 people lost power in Ocean county.

An area of low pressure over North Carolina on the 23rd strengthened and moved northeast to a location just off the New Jersey Coastline on the morning of the 24th. With a very tight pressure gradient, winds increased ahead of the storm reaching in excess of 50 mph that led to some damage reports. A few periods of heavy rainfall occurred. Excessive rainfall close to 2 inches was focused in sections of Northern and Eastern New Jersey. The storm also brought a strong onshore flow which resulted in minor to moderate tidal flooding for the high tide cycles on the 23rd and 24th. Minor tidal flooding occurred with the tidal cycles on the 23rd and the morning cycle on the 24th with a few reports of moderate tidal flooding on the 24th. Minor tidal flooding on the afternoon of the 23rd closed a lane on the George Redding bridge. Considerable beach erosion occurred during the event as well across all of New Jersey coastal counties, including a 70 percent loss of the dunes near the Matoloking and Harvey Ceders beaches. It was also cold enough for a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain in the highest elevations in the northwest portion of the state. With road temperatures in the low 30's, some slick conditions were encountered with school delays as a result. Snow and sleet accumulations ranged from a couple tenths of an inch near Randolph Twp to almost three inches at Highland lakes. ice accumulation of three tenths was measured in Vernon. In addition, the Cape May Lewes ferry was closed for the day. Power outages from the storm were estimated at around 20,000. Numerous schools either dismissed early on the 23rd or had a delay/closing on the 24th. Ocean city, Wildwood schools were closed on the 24th. NJ Transit services were interrupted both days.

Several clusters of thunderstorms associated with several shortwaves and a cold front became nearly stationary over Mercer County on the 29th and Hunderdon County on the morning of the 30th. Heavy rainfall over 5 inches occurred in these areas. The persistent heavy rain resulted in severe flash flooding including a state of emergency being issued in West Windsor Twp. Thousands were left without power as a result of the storms. The Monmouth county fair and New Jersey Balloon festival were cancelled due to weather on 7/31.

A trough of low pressure led to the development of afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms which became severe in spots and produced locally heavy rains. 40,000 were left without power across the state.

A cold frontal boundary moved south into New Jersey during the morning hours of the 21st before stalling. This front served as a focal point for showers and thunderstorms to develop across the region. Some of the storms were severe particularly in the afternoon. More than 30,000 people lost power for a time.

A trough of low pressure moving through the region produced a quick moving line of thunderstorms around noontime. These thunderstorms produced widespread wind damage across most of Southern and Central NJ with numerous power outages.

A strong cold front associated with a low pressure system moving through New York State swept across the area during the late evening hours of April 2nd and early morning hours of April 3rd, accompanied by thunderstorms, very strong convectively driven winds, and small hail. As colder air behind this front drained south, precipitation changed to snow, with up to three inches falling in the higher elevations of northwest New Jersey and lesser amounts in isolated spots through most of New Jersey. The parent low pressure system then quickly intensified as it continued to move northeast away from the area. The gradient between this low pressure system and incoming high pressure produced strong winds gusting over 60 MPH in some localities from late overnight through the morning hours of April 3rd. Some reported peak wind gusts included: 52 MPH at Atlantic City International Airport at 0651EST (Atlantic County), 60 MPH at South Jersey Regional Airport at 0822EST (Burlington County), 48 MPH near Atsion at 0610EST (Camden County), 63 MPH in Cape May at 0757EST (Cape May County), 54 MPH at Millville Municipal Airport at 0757EST (Cumberland County), 56 MPH near Turnersville at 0405EST (Gloucester County), 46 MPH near Frenchtown at 1040EST (Hunterdon County), 51 MPH at Mercer County Airport at 0605EST (Mercer County), 57 MPH near Tottenville at 0639EST (Middlesex County), 71 MPH near Windsor at 0020EST (Monmouth County), 45 MPH near Livingston at 0526EST (Morris County), 64 MPH near Beach Haven at 0547EST (Ocean County), 47 MPH near Beckett at 2335EST (Salem County), 58 MPH near Bridgewater at 1032EST (Somerset County), 58 MPH in High Point at 1100EST (Sussex County), and 44 MPH near Alpha at 1045EST (Warren County). Some snowfall measurements included: 0.3 inches in Holland Township (Hunterdon County), 0.3 inches in Jefferson Township (Morris County), and 2.7 inches in Highland Lakes (Sussex County). Thousands were left without power across the state including about three thousand in Cape May County. 81,000 were without power across the state.

A strong low pressure system moving north through the Great Lakes region, combined with its associated warm front and cold front, copious amounts of moisture, and low level jet, produced strong to severe thunderstorms, heavy rain, flash flooding, and stream flooding in New Jersey late Wednesday afternoon and evening, February 24th, with stream flooding continuing into Thursday, February 25th. Thousands were without power for a period across the state, focused in South Jersey.

Double barrel cold fronts helped trigger a series of showers and thunderstorms across southern New Jersey during the morning of the 15th. While the primary impact was flash flooding, some hail as well as isolated wind and lightning damage also occurred. Atlantic City Electric reported 4,000 of its customers lost power. All power was restored by midnight that night.

The combination of an unseasonably hot and humid air mass, an approaching cold front and strong winds aloft caused a squall line of severe thunderstorms to move through southern New Jersey during the very late afternoon and early evening of the 23rd. Estimated wind gusts as high as around 85 mph knocked down thousands of trees and caused structural damage to homes and vehicles, mainly from fallen trees. Four direct injuries were reported. Many roadways were closed because of downed trees into the 24th. Hardest hit were Burlington, Camden, Atlantic and in particular Gloucester County. Gloucester County declared a state of emergency. The region suffered approximately 31 million dollars in property damage and was declared a presidential disaster area. A couple of severe thunderstorms also occurred in northwest New Jersey during the afternoon of the 23rd. While there was one report of a funnel cloud and a waterspout in Barnegat Bay, no confirmed tornadoes occurred.||The severe thunderstorm forced suspension of all PATCO commuter regional rail service in the Philadelphia suburbs as well as the New Jersey Transit Line between Philadelphia and Atlantic City. PATCO service was partially restored on the afternoon of the 24th with full service back on the 25th. Philadelphia to Atlantic City service was not restored until the 26th.||About 410,000 homes and businesses in southern New Jersey lost power. The 280,000 customers that lost service in the Atlantic City Electric's service area represented a greater number than what occurred during Superstorm Sandy (220,000) and the Derecho of 2012 (206,000). The utility reported that several high transmission lines, five substations, twenty other transmission lines, hundreds of poles as well as 372 incidents of wire damage occurred. The utility received assistance from repair crews as far away as Ohio and New England. About 210,000 of its customers were still without power on the morning of the 24th, 180,000 the afternoon of the 24th, 121,500 the afternoon of the 25th, 84,000 the morning of the 26th and 48,000 the evening of the 26th. Thunderstorms on the 27th slowed restoration efforts and full restoration did not occur until the 30th. Public Service Electric & Gas reported 130,000 of its customers lost power. Full restoration occurred on the 26th. The utility's substations in Collingswood, Maple Shade, Medford and Southampton were damaged. Because of the prolonged power outages, water and ice distribution centers were opened and the American Red Cross assisted with displaced families. ||In Gloucester County, two comfort stations were opened by the Red Cross. The worst wind damage occurred from Greenwich Township east through Mantua Township. About 11,000 homes and businesses were still without power on the morning of the 28th. In Camden County, the county dispatch office fielded ten times the normal call volume for assistance. The County Public Safety Office fielded 3,522 calls vs 2,432 calls for the entire duration of Superstorm Sandy. Hardest hit was the central part of the county from Gloucester Township east through Cherry Hill and Voorhees Township. In Burlington County, Evesham and Medford Townships were hardest hit.||Crop damage impacted mainly Camden and Gloucester Counties. Most of the initial damage was physical in nature to buildings, facilities and ditches. The impact of the wind on the crops themselves will not be known for months. The lack of hail cut down on the overall crop damage. Verizon cell phone service was also lost in parts of southwest New Jersey on the 23rd and restored by the 24th.

A low pressure system that formed along a warm, in addition to flooding downpours, triggered a couple of severe thunderstorms in central and southern New Jersey during the night of the 12th. The combination of flash flooding, lightning and high winds caused about 4,500 homes and businesses to lose power in the southern half of New Jersey.

A pair of lines of strong to severe thunderstorms triggered by another lee side trough moved through New Jersey during the afternoon and evening of the 14th. This line not only caused wind and lightning damage, but also caused flash flooding. The greatest impact by the thunderstorms was across the central third of New Jersey. About 30,000 homes and businesses lost power throughout the state with the greatest outages also in the central third of the state. Power was not fully restored until the 16th.

A hot and humid air mass and a lee side trough helped trigger a squall line of strong to severe thunderstorms that moved through New Jersey during the evening of the 8th. The worst wind damage occurred across the central third of the state. About 80,000 homes and businesses lost power in the state. Hardest hit counties were Burlington, Gloucester and Monmouth. About 15,200 homes and businesses were without power on the morning of the 9th and 5,500 overnight on the 9th. Power was fully restored on the 10th. The downed trees and power lines also caused some commuting problems. New Jersey Transit cross honored tickets on the 9th. Overhead line problems caused delays along Northeast Corridor trains between Trenton and New York City. New Jersey Transit Montclair to Boonton Line had one hour delays on the 9th.

A low pressure system that developed along a frontal boundary helped produce clusters of showers and some strong to locally severe thunderstorms that moved through southern New Jersey during the early morning of the 19th. A couple of homes were also struck by lightning. Approximately 4,500 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes occurred in the Mount Holly warning and forecast area as the thunderstorms moved through. Over 3,000 homes and businesses lost power in the southern half of the state. This ended the brief hot spell across the region.

A complex of showers and thunderstorms produced both wind damage and flash flooding across southern new Jersey. The wind damage included an EF0 tornado in Manahawkin (Stafford Township in Ocean County). An isolated severe thunderstorm then occurred during the evening of the 13th in Morris County. Cloud-to-ground lightning strikes peaked at 6,000 per hour as this complex moved through New Jersey. The thunderstorms caused about 14,500 homes and businesses to lose power on the 13th.

Post Tropical Storm Sandy was the costliest natural disaster by far in the state of New Jersey. Record breaking high tides and wave action combined with sustained winds as high as 60 to 70 mph with wind gusts as high as around 90 mph to batter the state. Statewide, Sandy caused an estimated 29.4 billion dollars in damage, destroyed or significantly damaged 30,000 homes and businesses, affected 42,000 additional structures and was responsible directly or indirectly for 38 deaths. A new temporary inlet formed in Mantaloking (Ocean County) where some homes were swept away. About 2.4 million households in the state lost power. It would take two weeks for power to be fully restored to homes and businesses that were inhabitable. In the Mount Holly warning and forecast area of New Jersey, Sandy was responsible for 24 deaths, 8 that are considered directly caused by the system: two drownings, five people killed by fallen trees and one person was blown over by the wind. Hardest hit were the coastal areas of Ocean and Monmouth Counties. As of late December, complete access to the barrier islands of Ocean County was still prohibited. It was expected to take until 2013 before rebuilt gas lines as well as the shore division of New Jersey Transit would be in operation. Approximately 230,000 residents of the state have applied for assistance from FEMA.||Tropical Storm Sandy formed in the Caribbean Sea on the 22nd of October. After drifting slowly southwest into the 23rd, Sandy turned to the north and intensified to a hurricane on the 24th just before making landfall in Jamaica during that afternoon. Hurricane Sandy continued to the north and intensified to a strong category two hurricane before making landfall again in Cuba shortly after Midnight EDT on the 25th. Hurricane Sandy emerged on the other side of Cuba during the morning of the 25th and proceeded to drift northwest as a category one or two hurricane as it moved through the Bahamas on the 25th and 26th. Overnight on the 26th, Hurricane Sandy (Category 1) started to move toward the north-northeast, a motion that continued into the evening of the 28th. From there, Sandy���s motion became driven by two factors. An anomalously strong blocking ridge over the Canadian Maritimes prevented Sandy from escaping to the east. Simultaneously, an approaching and deepening extratropical trough was about to capture Sandy. The combination of the two, turned Sandy to the north overnight on the 28th and then to the northwest on the 29th. Hurricane Sandy received one last jolt of tropical energy as it passed across the Gulf Stream during the morning of the 29th. The lowest recorded central pressure of 940 millibars (27.76 inches) occurred when Category 1 Hurricane Sandy was about 110 miles southeast of Atlantic City at 2 p.m. EDT on the 29th. As Sandy continued to move northwest and interact with the mid latitude trough, its interaction continued to make it less tropical, but did not weaken it much. Sandy continued to make a harder turn to the left (west) and made landfall in Atlantic County as a post tropical storm in Brigantine City just north of Atlantic City at 730 p.m. EDT on the 29th. The estimated minimum central pressure was 945 millibars. The lowest recorded central pressure was 945.6 millibars at the Atlantic City Marina at 734 p.m. EDT. From there, Sandy continued to weaken or fill as it moved west. At 9 p.m. EDT, the low pressure system was in western Atlantic County and continued to move west-northwest. At 11 p.m. EDT, the post tropical storm (about 954 millibars) was located in southern Chester County. Post tropical storm Sandy continued to move west-northwest and weaken. At 2 a.m. EDT on the 30th, the 962 millibar low was located near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and at 8 a.m. EDT the 979 millibar low was near Altoona, Pennsylvania. From there, the rapidly weakening low pressure system moved northwest and reached Lake Erie (993 millibars) at 8 p.m. EDT that evening and from there drifted north into Canada.||Direct deaths caused by Sandy included: a 43-year-old Hunterdon County man in Asbury (Franklin Township) that was killed when a tree fell on him, a 61-year-old male in Princeton (Mercer County) was struck and killed by a tree while clearing his driveway of other trees, a 58-year-old male who was blown over by the wind and died in a parking lot in Hamilton Township (Mercer County), a 54-year-old male and his 48-year-old wife died after a tree landed on their pick-up truck as they were exiting it in Mendham Township (Morris County), their two children were also injured, a 51-year-old male was killed in Jefferson Township (Morris County) when a tree fell into his house, a 61-year-old male drowned in his house on Vanders Drive by the Kettle Creek in Brick Township (Ocean County) and a 72-year-old male drowned in the Mystic Island section of Little Egg Harbor Township (Ocean County). Both drownings were on the mainland side of Ocean County west of Barnegat Bay.||Other deaths that were attributed to Sandy included a 65-year-old woman who died of a heart attack while on an evacuation bus in Atlantic City (Atlantic County), a 73-year-old man who died from hypothermia after failing to evacuate in Brigantine (Atlantic County), a 93-year-old man who fell and struck his head while moving a car in Ventnor (Atlantic County), a 73-year-old man and his 70-year-old wife from a generator related house fire in Willingboro (Burlington County), a 69-year-old woman who was ran over by a municipal truck clearing debris in Sea Isle City (Cape May County), a male in Bethlehem Township (Hunterdon County) who also was struck and killed by a vehicle clearing debris, a 79-year-old male in Lambertville (Hunterdon County) who fell down and struck his head, a 59-year-old woman in Trenton (Mercer County) who died of carbon monoxide poisoning, two 55-year-old males in Edison and New Brunswick (Middlesex County) who both died of carbon monoxide poisoning, an 84-year-old woman who fell down stairs in Middlesex (Middlesex County), a 55-year-old male and 78-year-old woman in Middlesex (Middlesex County) who both died from smoke inhalation from a house fire started by candles, a 40-year-old male in North Brunswick (Middlesex County) who was struck and killed by a weakened tree on November 4th, a 61-year-old male who died of hypothermia after failing to evacuate in Long Branch (Monmouth County), a 94-year-old woman who died of hypothermia in Forked River (Ocean County), a 71-year-old male who died of hypothermia on Oakwood Drive in Stafford Township (Ocean County) and a 61-year-old male in Brick Township (Ocean County) who died after a tree stump fell on him as he was trying to remove it.| |Prior to Sandy���s arrival, Governor Chris Christie called for voluntary evacuations of barrier communities on the 26th. The Governor declared a State of Emergency on the 27th and ordered a mandatory evacuation of all barrier island communities. Approximately 115,000 people were ordered to evacuate and 15,000 people were in shelters. More than 2,000 National Guard troops were deployed. Tolls along sections of the Garden State Parkway and all of the Westbound Atlantic City Expressway were suspended. On the 28th, the day before Sandy���s landfall, all gaming activity at the Atlantic City casinos ceased and the properties were closed. President Barack Obama signed a federal emergency declaration for New Jersey. Tolls along the entire northbound length of the Garden State Parkway were suspended. All State Parks and Historic Sites were closed. Late that afternoon, New Jersey transit began a gradual system-wide shutdown. On the 29th, the evening of Sandy���s landfall, PATCO suspended commuter rail service between Philadelphia and southern New Jersey. All bridges across the lower Delaware River to and around Philadelphia were closed. Approximately 130 miles of the Garden State Parkway was closed from Woodbridge in Middlesex County to its terminus in Cape May County. The New Jersey Turnpike was closed in central New Jersey. Most schools were closed. The nuclear power plants at Oyster Creek (Ocean County) and Salem (Salem County) suspended operations because of tidal flooding. On the 30th, the day after Sandy���s landfall, all 580 school districts in the state were closed. All courts and state offices were closed. Over 200 roadways were closed. Numerous boil water advisories were issued for the northern and coastal parts of the state, some that lasted into November. Atlantic City International Airport reopened on the 30th. Governor Chris Christie postponed Halloween in the state until November 5th. On October 31st, two days after Sandy���s landfall Amtrak started limited rail service. State offices were still closed, but some schools reopened. Most major roadways away from the immediate coast including the New Jersey Turnpike were reopened. On November 1st, three days after Sandy���s landfall Governor Christie rescinded evacuation orders for some of the Atlantic County barrier islands. The River Line Transit service between Camden and Trenton resumed. New Jersey Transit bus service resumed as did the Cape May-Lewes Ferry. On November 2nd, the governor lifted the evacuation order for Atlantic City and the casinos opened the next day. Evacuation orders were also lifted for Cape May County. Limited New Jersey Rail Service resumed. Because of power outages, lines for gas reached 100 cars long in the northern part of the state. The governor declared a limited state of emergency and imposed odd-even rationing for gasoline purchases in twelve northern New Jersey counties because of the shortages. They remained in effect through November 12th. The Environmental Protection Agency temporarily suspended some Clean Air Act restrictions. The entire state was also under odd-even water restrictions. On November 3rd, about 75 major roadways were still closed. On November 4th, rail service between Philadelphia and Atlantic City resumed. It was estimated that the average New Jersey beach became 30 to 40 feet narrower. It was difficult for people whose homes were uninhabitable to find rental properties. ||Sandy produced record breaking outages, in the state, 2.7 million utility customers lost power, by far surpassing the record from Tropical Storm Irene in 2011. Public Service Electric and Gas alone had power lost to 1.4 million of its customers in the state, twice the number of its customers impacted by Irene. The utility reported about 48,000 trees had to be removed or trimmed to restore power and over 2,400 poles had to be replaced. Both were two to three times the impact from Irene. Jersey Central Power and Light estimated that nearly 1.0 million of its customers lost power, about ninety percent of its customer base. This included hardest hit areas of Ocean and Monmouth Counties. Monmouth County had the greatest number of sustained outages of any county in the state. The utility had to cut through approximately 45,000 fallen trees. It was unable to restore power to about 30,000 of its shore and barrier island customers because of massive infrastructure damage to those homes and businesses. Atlantic City Electric reported about 208,000 of its customers lost power. Atlantic City Electric restored all power to its customers by November 6th. Elsewhere in the state, power restoration was hampered by a nor���easter that occurred on November 7th. Public Service Electric and Gas restored all power on November 12th and Jersey Central Power and Light by November 14th. ||The unique aspect of Sandy and unlike most tropical systems was the multi-tide cycle increase of onshore winds prior to landfall. This caused multiple high tide cycles with tidal flooding and also helped produce catastrophic wave action. Record breaking or near record breaking high tides were exacerbated by the high astronomical spring tides associated with the full moon. Recording breaking high tides would have occurred regardless of the lunar tidal cycle in northern New Jersey. Sandy���s landfall coincided closely with the high tide cycle on the evening of the 29th. On the oceanside, Raritan Bay and the lower Delaware Bay, minor tidal flooding started during the high tide cycle on the morning of the 28th, with some moderate tidal flooding during the high tide cycle on the evening of the 28th. Widespread major tidal flooding occurred during the morning and evening high tide cycles on the 29th. The highest tide (and surge) along the ocean front and Raritan Bay was with the landfalling high tide cycle on the evening of the 29th. The ocean front and Raritan Bay surge was 5 to 9 feet. A new all time record tide was set in Sandy Hook (Monmouth County). The tide reached 13.31 feet above mean lower low water before the pier collapsed about 45 minutes before high tide. An after the event survey performed by the USGS and Rutgers University determined that an estimated crest of 14.40 feet above mean lower low water will be used as the new record for Sandy Hook. The entrance to New York Harbor Buoy (a relatively new buoy) had record breaking seas of 32.5 feet. The Delaware Bay Buoy (about 19 miles east of Fenwick Island, Delaware) had seas that reached 24.5 feet. It was estimated that waves likely reached 12 to 24 feet along the ocean front with the largest waves along Monmouth County. Most of the surveyed damage to barrier island homes that were either destroyed or moved indicated that it was the storm surge and wave action that caused most of the damage. Either minor or no tidal flooding occurred with the subsequent high tide cycles the rest of the month.||In Upper Delaware Bay and tidal sections of the Delaware River, some minor tidal flooding occurred during the evening high tide cycle on the 28th, moderate (upper Delaware Bay) and major (the tidal Delaware River) record breaking tidal flooding occurred during the one overnight high tide cycle on the 29th as Sandy moved westward. The storm surge averaged 4 to 5 feet. The Admiral Wilson Boulevard in Camden was flooded and closed. The region was spared higher surges as Sandy made landfall in New Jersey and the winds prior to landfall pushed water down the Delaware River and Delaware Bay. Borderline minor to moderate tidal flooding occurred during the subsequent daytime high tide cycle on the 30th. Minor tidal flooding occurred along tidal sections of the Delaware with the high tide cycle on the 31st. Tidal sections of the Delaware River were spared significant runoff from the non-tidal sections of the river as the heaviest rain occurred in the southern half of New Jersey.||Strong north to northeast winds associated with Sandy started to spread across the state during the morning of the 29th from the southeast and east coast northwestward throughout the state. High or damaging winds started during the middle of the morning along coastal Ocean County. Highs winds started to occur across the rest of the southeast part of the state during the afternoon of the 29th and spread into the northern part of the state by the evening of the 29th. The southwest part of the state was affected the least by the high winds. Most of the peak wind gusts (between 70 mph and 91 mph) occurred during the late afternoon and evening hours as Sandy was making landfall. Most of the high winds in the state were over by Midnight EDT that night and as Sandy rapidly weakened, most of the strong wind gusts were also over by 6 a.m. EDT on the 30th. The highest measured wind gust in Mount Holly���s forecast and warning area was 91 mph in Atlantic City (Atlantic County) at 355 p.m. EDT on the 29th. The most widespread measured hurricane force wind gusts occurred in northern Ocean County and in Monmouth County.||Heavy rain also occurred with Sandy. This made it easier for shallow rooted and leafed trees to be uprooted, it also complicated the tidal flooding. Unlike some of the more recent tropical systems to affect the area, the heaviest rain was not in the northern half of the state. Event rainfall totals averaged 1 to 3 inches in the northern half of the state and 3 to 7 inches in the southern half of the state, except 6 to 12 inches along the southern tier counties of Salem, Cumberland, Cape May County as well as coastal Atlantic County. The steady rain associated with Sandy spread into the southeast part of the state during the day on the 28th and slowly edged north. The rain spread into the central and southwest part of the state overnight on the 28th and spread into the northwest part of the state during the morning of the 29th. The heaviest rain fell overnight on the 27th into the early evening of the 29th in the southeast part of the state and during the daylight hours on the 29th in the central and southwest part of the state. The rain ended during the middle of the day on the 30th throughout most of the state, but lingered into the evening in the southwest part of the state.| |Some county by county information is included in the ensuing paragraphs. They are in alphabetical order for the sixteen counties under Mount Holly���s forecast area in the state. Inland flooding event information is listed separately. ||In Atlantic County, the northern end of the famed Atlantic City boardwalk was destroyed. That part was planned on being removed. The wind damaged boardwalks within the city. The city was cut off from the mainland by tidal flooding after the morning high tide. Elsewhere in the county, heavy tidal damage was reported in Longport, Margate and Ventnor. Nearly every municipality from Egg Harbor and Galloway Townships eastward suffered widespread wind and or tide damage. ||In Burlington County, a Mount Holly resident was trapped inside their home after a tree landed on it. Indicative of tree damage in the county, seven roadways were closed in Medford Township. Along the Delaware River, tidal flooding occurred in the Columbus Park Development along the Assiscunk Creek in Burlington City. The most widespread damage (mainly tidal and flood related) was reported in Bass River Township. In Camden County, about 70 large trees had to be removed from roadways. In Cherry Hill Township alone, twenty-four streets were closed. In Camden City, tidal flooding inundated Admiral Wilson Boulevard (U.S. Route 30) and Delaware Avenue. Rutgers University Camden Campus was closed until the 31st.||In Cape May County, nearly every municipality suffered widespread damage. The Ocean City Boardwalk was damaged, but survived. Ocean City and most of the barrier islands were also cut off after the morning high tide on the 29th. The wave action was so severe that the Ocean City-Longport (Atlantic County) Bridge was closed because boulders were pushed onto it. In Cumberland County, Gandy���s Beach, Money Island and Fortescue were all evacuated because of Delaware Bay flooding. The most widespread damage in the county occurred in the eastern municipalities of Commercial, Downe and Maurice River Townships. In Gloucester County, the majority of the reported damage was flooding related. ||In Hunterdon County, the roof was blown off an airport hanger in Alexandria Township. Nearly 90 percent of the county lost power. In Mercer County, the roof of Alexander Elementary School in Hamilton Township suffered wind damage. An abandoned building in Trenton partially collapsed. Thirteen major roadways in the county were closed including U.S. Route 206 and the New Jersey Turnpike. Over 100 homes were damaged by fallen trees. ||In Middlesex County, the worst reported damage occurred in Woodbridge Township, Sayreville, South River and Old Bridge Townships. Most of this was related to tidal flooding in Raritan Bay and its ripple effects on the inland rivers including the Raritan. Mandatory evacuations occurred along the Raritan Bay and as far west along the Raritan River as New Brunswick. In Perth Amboy, evacuations included Water Street residents. Tidal flooding occurred in both Perth Amboy and Sayreville. A 336,000 gallon diesel fuel spill into Raritan Bay occurred in Perth Amboy. Both the Veterans Bridge and Morgan Bridge were closed in Sayreville. In Old Bridge, evacuations occurred east of New Jersey State Route 35 and included Cliffwood and Laurence Harbor. All of New Brunswick lost power and because of water supply issues Rutgers University canceled classes for the entire week. Homes were damaged by downed trees in Old Bridge and East Brunswick. In Morris County, nearly 90 percent of the county lost power. In Denville alone, 180 trees were knocked down.||Monmouth and Ocean Counties suffered the greatest damage from Sandy. Every municipality that bordered Raritan Bay and the Atlantic Ocean suffered widespread damage in Monmouth County and every inland municipality had at least some sporadic damage. Union Beach and Sea Bright were among the most hardest hit locations. In Sea Bright, many businesses were totally destroyed and the fishing pier collapsed. Both Spring Lake and Belmar had miles of their boardwalks destroyed. Some schools were damaged beyond use. Monmouth University was used as an evacuation center. The New Jersey Transit line will have to be rebuilt because it was severely damaged. Ferry service between Manhattan and Atlantic Highlands was suspended indefinitely. Miraculously the only Sandy related injury was carbon monoxide poisoning in Middletown. Like Monmouth County, in Ocean County, every municipality in the eastern half of the county suffered widespread damage. The two amusement piers that collapsed into the ocean along with the rides in Seaside Heights became the iconic symbols of damage along the Jersey Shore. Roofs of homes collapsed in Seaside Heights. The wave and tide action created a new inlet in Mantoloking and swept homes away. Houses were literally pushed off their foundation. Bay Head, Point Pleasant and Mantoloking were all devastated. The rupture of natural gas lines caused additional damage as house fires occurred in Mantoloking. Mantoloking was the last municipality to permit residents to move back. This was not permitted until late February of 2013. Damage progressively increased as one moved south along Long Beach Island south of New Jersey State Route 72 through Holgate. Tidal flooding affected houses on the west side of Barnegat Bay. The two drownings in the county occurred on the mainland. The Oyster Creek Nuclear Power plant in Forked River shut down because of flooding. It reopened on the 30th. Major flooding occurred as far west as Toms River. ||In Salem County, tidal flooding climbed the walls of Riverview Beach Park in Pennsville Township. Some voluntary evacuations occurred in the township. Tidal flooding caused an automatic shutdown of the Salem Nuclear Power Plant after four of its six pumps failed. In Somerset County, sporadic wind damage was reported mainly in the southern two-thirds of the county. Both Sussex and Warren Counties suffered relatively less damage than counties farther to the east. The largest issue was fallen trees. The only township to report widespread damage was Walpack Township in Sussex County.||Peak wind gusts included 91 mph in Atlantic City (Atlantic County), 88 mph in Tuckerton (Ocean County), 87 mph at Sandy Hook (Monmouth County), 79 mph in Sea Girt (Monmouth County), Barnegat Light (Ocean County) and High Point (Sussex County), 78 mph in Brick Township (Ocean County), 75 mph in West Cape May (Cape May County), Harvey Cedars (Ocean County), Long Branch (Monmouth County) and Sussex (Sussex County), 74 mph in Pittstown (Hunterdon County) and Point Pleasant (Ocean County), 73 mph in Monmouth Beach (Monmouth County), 71 mph in Lakehurst (Ocean County) and Seaside Heights (Ocean County), 70 mph in Florence (Burlington County), Parsippany (Morris County), Perth Amboy (Middlesex County) and Cape May (Cape May County), 69 mph in Teetertown (Hunterdon County) and Wantage (Sussex County), 68 mph in Trenton (Mercer County), Stewartsville (Warren County) and Toms River (Ocean County), 66 mph in Absecon (Atlantic County), Cream Ridge (Monmouth County) and at the McGuire Air Force Base (Burlington County), 65 mph in Berkeley Township (Ocean County), 64 mph at the Atlantic City International Airport (Atlantic County) , 61 mph in Basking Ridge (Somerset County), Wall Township (Monmouth County) and Pequest (Warren County), 60 mph in Lumberton (Burlington County) and Ocean City (Cape May County), 56 mph in Woodland Township (Burlington County), 55 mph in Mercerville (Mercer County) and Somerville (Somerset County), 53 mph in Washington Township (Gloucester County) and 49 mph in Sicklerville (Camden County).||Maximum sustained winds included 68 mph at Sandy Hook (Monmouth County) and 61 mph at the Cape May Ferry Terminal (Cape May County) and Long Branch (Monmouth County), 60 mph in Bay Head (Ocean County) and 51 mph in Atlantic City (Atlantic County).||The highest tide reached a record breaking 13.31 feet above mean lower low water in Sandy Hook (Monmouth County) before the pier collapsed approximately 45 minutes before the evening high tide on the 29th. The previous record was above mean lower low water in Philadelphia. The previous record was 10.1 feet above mean lower low water during Hurricane Donna on September 12, 1960 and the December 11, 1992 nor���easter. In Atlantic City (Atlantic County), the highest tide reached 8.9 feet above mean lower low water during the evening high tide on the 29th. This was the second highest tide on record, the highest was 9.0 feet above mean lower low water on December 11, 1992. In Cape May, the highest tide reached a record breaking 8.91 feet above mean lower low water during the morning high tide on the 29th. The previous record was 8.8 feet above mean lower low water during Hurricane Gloria on September 27, 1985. Traveling up the Delaware Bay and into the tidal Delaware River, the high tide at Reedy Point (New Castle County) reached 9.1 feet above mean lower low water during the evening high tide on the 29th. It was the second highest tide on record, the record is 9.2 feet above mean lower low water set during the April 16, 2011 nor���easter. In Philadelphia, the overnight high tide on the 29th reached a record breaking 10.62 feet above mean lower low water. The previous record was 10.5 feet above mean lower low water during a pair of nor���easters: April 17, 2011 and November 25, 1950.||While there are no established benchmarks for tidal flooding levels at these other stations, the following is a list of the highest tides during Sandy. These may not represent the highest actual tide as there were power outages and some of the graphs plateaued at high crest. The tide gages whose peak crest looks suspect (and may be higher) are marked with an asterisk. At South Amboy* (Middlesex County), the highest crest was 9.0 feet above mean lower low water, at Keansburg* (Monmouth County), the highest crest was 8.96 feet above mean lower low water, at Sea Bright (Monmouth County), the highest crest was 13.79 feet above mean lower low water, at Belmar* (Monmouth County), the highest crest was 8.70 feet above mean lower low water, at Mantaloking (Ocean County), the highest crest was 6.99 feet above mean lower low water, at Barnegat Light (Ocean County), the highest crest was 6.54 feet above mean lower low water, at Ship Bottom* (Ocean County), the highest crest was 5.24 feet above mean lower low water, at Tuckerton* (Ocean County), the highest crest was 8.26 feet above mean lower low water, at Sea Isle City* (Cape May County), the highest crest was 7.94 feet above mean lower low water, at Stone Harbor* (Cape May County), the highest crest was 8.50 feet above mean lower low water, at North Wildwood (Cape May County), the highest crest was 7.65 feet above mean lower low water, at Cape May Harbor (Cape May County), the highest crest was 8.67 feet above mean lower low water, at Burlington* (Burlington County), the highest crest was 11.66 feet above mean lower low water and at Newbold Island (Bucks County), the highest crest was 12.27 feet above mean lower low water.

A complex of strong to severe thunderstorms moved through the central third of New Jersey during the early evening of the 7th. This complex was fueled by high temperatures that reached as high as around 100F and triggered by an approaching cold front. Numerous trees were knocked down. Dozens of cars were damaged and downed trees also damaged several homes. Hardest hit were southern Monmouth and northern Ocean Counties. Nearly 100,000 homes and businesses in the Jersey Central Power and Light and Atlantic City Electric's service area lost power. A power outage caused people in Seaside Heights to be stuck on a sky ride as the severe thunderstorm moved through. On the morning of the 8th, there were still about 18,000 customers without power. That dropped to 14,000 later that day. It took until the night of the 9th for power to be fully restored to everyone. Frequent cloud-to-ground lightning also occurred and one woman was struck and killed by lightning in Monmouth County.

A well-organized cluster of thunderstorms with a history of producing widespread damaging winds advanced into a hot, unstable airmass over the Mid Atlantic. This derecho produced widespread, significant wind damage from southern New Jersey southward into the Delmarva during the late evening and overnight of the 29th. Salem, Cumberland and Atlantic Counties were hit the hardest. The counties were battered by the derecho which downed trees, power lines and poles, sparked fires and destroyed some homes.||There were three storm related deaths, two boys camping in Salem County and a man whose boat capsized in Absecon Bay in Atlantic County. A preliminary damage assessment put the cost at around $20 million for the three counties. In all sixteen homes were destroyed, ninety-two suffered major damage, one hundred eighty-seven suffered minor damage and another one hundred and twelve were affected by the derecho. In addition, forty-one businesses suffered major damage and three hundred twenty-nine suffered minor damage. A state of emergency was declared in Atlantic County. Governor Chris Christie mobilized the National Guard to help provide fuel and water. President Barack Obama has issued a disaster declaration for parts of South Jersey in the wake of the derecho. The president ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts in Atlantic, Cumberland and Salem counties. Federal funds will be available to state and local governments and certain nonprofit private organizations. Atlantic City Electric reported 206,000 of its customers lost power; 105,000 of the homes and businesses were in Atlantic County. On Sunday July 1st, 119,000 of its customers were still without power. The utility restored power to its last customers on July 11th. Meanwhile in Cumberland County, Vineland Electric expected its remaining 1,800 customers that lost power to have it restored during the week of July 9th.||Strong thunderstorm development began across the Midwest and Lower Great Lakes regions during the afternoon of the 29th, with storms initiating across northern Illinois, near Chicago. Strong mid-level winds and an unstable airmass contributed to rapid development as well-organized storms progressed from northern Illinois through Indiana and Ohio. This robust convection continued to track southeastward into an airmass that was even more unstable due to abundant daytime surface heating. Late afternoon temperatures had peaked mainly in the mid to upper 90s with high humidity throughout the Mid Atlantic states, and as the potent thunderstorm cluster progressed from the Great Lakes to the central Appalachians and into the Mid Atlantic by late evening, thunderstorm activity was reinvigorated. ||A robust gust front outpaced the main thunderstorm line, producing strong wind gusts as it traveled from the eastern shore of Maryland into Delaware and southern New Jersey. Shortly thereafter, the potent thunderstorm line tracked through the region, with additional damaging wind gusts. One cell in particular around Baltimore, MD experienced rapid intensification and expansion as it raced eastward into northern Delaware and southern New Jersey. This massive cell produced extreme damage throughout Salem, Cumberland, and Atlantic Counties in New Jersey. Damage to trees, power lines, and buildings was also significant throughout Delaware and the eastern shore of Maryland. Thunderstorms also dropped hail in several locations, ranging from penny to golf-ball size. Destructive wind gusts, between 65 mph to nearly 90 mph, were measured as this derecho tracked from the Lower Great Lakes to the Mid Atlantic coast.

Thunderstorms developed in the hot and humid air mass, as a weak warm front, associated with low pressure over the Midwest, moved northward through the Mid Atlantic on the morning of June 29th. Strong thunderstorm wind gusts downed numerous trees and power lines, along with producing small hail in Cape May, Camden and Salem Counties.

Scattered strong to severe thunderstorms developed along a sea breeze front and also ahead of an approaching cold front, producing pockets of very heavy rain and some wind damage across parts of New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, and Delaware during the afternoon and evening of the 22nd. One of the hardest hit areas was Cumberland and Salem Counties where power was out in some locations until the 24th. Atlantic City Electric reported that roughly 16,000 of its customers lost power at the height of the storm.

Irene produced torrential downpour rains that resulted in major flooding and a number of record breaking crests on area rivers, tropical storm force wind gusts with record breaking outages for New Jersey utilities, one confirmed tornado and a three to five foot storm surge that caused moderate to severe tidal flooding with extensive beach erosion over the weekend of August 27th and 28th. Irene is expected to be the costliest natural disaster in the history of New Jersey. Approximately one million people were evacuated from the coast and low lying areas prone to inland flooding throughout the state of New Jersey including all of Cape May County. Irene also caused record breaking outages to utility customers as around one and a half million people lost power throughout the state. Power was not fully restored until September 5th. The widespread flooding resulted in the second highest crest (highest was with Hurricane Floyd in September 1999) on record for the Raritan Basin, but the highest crest on record for many other river basins including the Passaic. Moderate tidal flooding occurred along the tidal Delaware River and Delaware Bay and minor to moderate flooding occurred farther north along the Delaware River. Moderate to severe tidal flooding occurred along the Atlantic Coast and Raritan Bay There were six direct deaths associated with Irene, all drownings. The deaths occurred in Salem County, Mercer County (two), Ocean County (two) and Morris County. Preliminary damage estimates in the whole state of New Jersey were near one billion dollars to approximately 200,000 homes and businesses. The closure of the Atlantic City casinos (only the third time in history) for three days caused an estimated 45 million dollars in lost revenue. The combination of wind and flooding forced the closure of about 350 main roadways in the state including sections of Interstate 287, the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike. The flooding rains and winds damaged the corn, peach, pumpkin, tomato, pepper, cucumber, potato and squash crops and feared will damage the blueberry crop in 2012. Drug industry production fell the week of August 29th because of traveling problems. Free ice and water were distributed in locations with widespread power outages. The American Red Cross distributed over 1,000 clean-up kits and 100,000 meals and snacks. ||Tropical storm force wind gusts overspread New Jersey during the late afternoon and evening of the 27th and persisted through the afternoon of the 28th. Peak wind gusts averaged around 50 mph inland and around 65 mph at the coast. The strongest winds associated with Irene occurred at two distinct times. The first surge occurred during bands of heavier rain during the evening of the 27th and early morning of the 28th. The second peak occurred during the afternoon of the 28th when skies were clearing and deeper mixing of the atmosphere brought stronger winds to the ground. Most of the inland peak wind gusts occurred at this time. The rain associated with Irene overspread New Jersey during the late morning on the 27th, fell at its heaviest during the evening of the 27th into the early morning of the 28th and ended during the early afternoon on the 28th. Event precipitation totals averaged 5 to 10 inches and caused widespread record breaking flooding. Many locations broke August's all time monthly rainfall records even before Irene arrived. Because the flash flooding and flooding blended into one, all flooding related Stormdata county entries were combined into one under flood events. The storm surge of 3 to 5 feet caused moderate to severe tidal flooding along the ocean side and moderate tidal flooding in Delaware Bay and tidal sections of the Delaware River. The tidal flooding was during the evening and overnight high tide on the 27th across southern New Jersey, Delaware Bay and the Delaware River, but with the morning high on the 28th in Northern New Jersey. The morning high tide coincided closer with the high tide cycle and caused most of the severe tidal flooding to occur there. Minor tidal flooding persisted in tidal sections of the Delaware River during the high tide cycles from the 29th through the 31st. ||Governor Chris Christie declared a state of emergency on August 25th. New Jersey Transit rail, bus and light rail operations were suspended on the weekend of the 27th and 28th. Full transit service was not restored until Wednesday August 31st. In Cape May County, countywide mandatory evacuations were ordered on August 25th, and for residents the next day. Traffic on New Jersey State Route 55 south of Vineland, New Jersey Route 47 and New Jersey Route 347 were only allowed to head north leaving Cape May County.||All Atlantic County shore communities east of U.S. Route 9 including Atlantic City were placed under a voluntary evacuation at 8 p.m. August 25th and the following day a mandatory evacuation effective starting 6 a.m. EDT. All Atlantic City casinos were shut down as the city faced the first mandatory evacuation in history. About 1,500 National Guard troops had been deployed in the state to help with evacuations. In Ocean County, all of the barrier islands including Long Beach Island were under mandatory evacuation starting at 8 a.m. EDT on August 26th. To relieve evacuation traffic, toll operations were temporarily suspended on the Garden State Parkway south of the Raritan River and on the Atlantic City Expressway. The southbound lanes on the Garden State Parkway south of exit 98 were closed at 8 p.m. EDT on August 26th, while eastbound traffic was stopped on New Jersey State Routes 70 and Route 72.||Major flooding occurred on the Raritan, Millstone, Rockaway and Passaic Rivers. Record flows were reported at the Musconetcong River in Warren County as well as the Assunpink Creek in Mercer County and the Rancocas Creek in Burlington County. Flooding on the rivers lasted as long as September 5th. The flooding affected and closed numerous roads, including the heavily used Interstate 287 in Boonton when the northbound shoulder collapsed from the force of the Rockaway River. The Garden State Parkway flooded in Toms River near exit 98. On Monday August 29th, eighty roadways were still closed and thirty-six roadways were still closed on the 30th. Ninety-eight percent of the closed roadways were reopened as of September 1st. Coupled with a reduced transit schedule, travel was described as gridlock on the 29th Thousands of homes were also flooded, especially in Morris and Somerset Counties. Many northern New Jersey schools that were scheduled to open on the 29th were closed. ||At the Trenton Train Station along Assunpink Creek, flooding impacted Amtrak's Northeast Corridor, SEPTA's Trenton Line, and New Jersey Transit's (NJT) Northeast Corridor Rail Line. Service was not fully restored to and through Trenton until August 31st. Irene cost NJT just under $10 million in lost revenue and damaged infrastructure. Numerous homes suffered structural damages from the winds, and limbs impacting their roofs. ||In total, approximately 1.6 million customers of JCP&L and PSE&G throughout the state lost power. Two days after the storm, 500,000 PSE&G customers were still without power, down from a peak of about 928,000. By September 3 power had been restored to all but 750, but thousands of JCP&L customers were still without service. On September 2nd, 37,000 JCP&L customers were awaiting restoration of service. On Sunday September 5, power had been returned to last remaining 2,000 residents who suffered a power outage. ||There was one confirmed tornado in Mercer County, but widespread tree wind damage (and damage to homes and vehicles when trees fell on them) occurred in every county. In addition, a few municipalities experienced stronger wind bursts that caused direct property damage. The strong winds forced the suspension of service on the Cape May Lewes Ferry. In Monmouth County, in Long Branch, the high winds damaged two roofs of an apartment complex on Ocean Boulevard. In Ocean County, an estimated 500 trees were knocked down. The SpongeBob ride at the Funtown Pier in Seaside Park was damaged. In Atlantic County, a piece of an exterior wall of the Borgota Hotel was blown off. In Gloucester County, a 61-year-old woman suffered a head injury after being struck by a tree. ||The shore took a pounding from the coastal flooding and heavy surf. A 25-year-old and a 24-year-old man drowned in Point Pleasant (Ocean County) after going to the shore to view the storm. The average sand loss was about four to five feet high and one hundred fifty feet wide. Waves were estimated to reach as high as 12 feet as offshore seas reached 25 feet. There were numerous reports of dune fence damage and sand overwashes onto streets and boardwalks. Along the Raritan Bay side of Middlesex and Monmouth Counties, most of the vertical cuts were less than two feet and no breaches were reported. In Keansburg and Union Beach in Monmouth County low lying bayshore communities experienced tidal flooding. About 3,000 county residents were evacuated along Raritan Bay. Along the Atlantic Ocean side of Monmouth County, vertical cuts averaged 2 to 5 feet. In Spring Lake, about one and a half miles of the borough���s boardwalk was damaged and closed. In Ocean County, vertical cuts averaged 2 to 4 feet north of Barnegat Light and 4 to 6 feet south of Barnegat Light. A dune cut was reported in Harvey Cedars. Dune washovers occurred in Brant Beach. In Beach Haven, dune cuts reached 10 feet and the geotubes at Merrivale Avenue were overtopped. No flood damage to homes was reported. The entrance to the Holgate Natural Area was impassable as stone and rubble were exposed. In Atlantic County, vertical cuts averaged 1 to 4 feet, but reached 6 feet in Brigantine. In Cape May County, vertical cuts averaged 2 to 4 feet. A couple of horizontal dune cuts occurred in North Wildwood and the top cap of a timber bulkhead was knocked off. In Cape May City, a horizontal dune cut occurred on Poverty Beach. | |President Barack Obama initially declared the state a disaster area, making residents of Bergen, Essex, Morris, Passaic and Somerset Counties and made them eligible for federal aid. The declaration was later extended throughout the state.||The highest wind gusts recorded during Hurricane Irene were 75 mph at Cape May Ferry Terminal (Cape May County), 69 mph in Harvey Cedars (Ocean County), 69 mph in Tuckerton (Ocean County), 68 mph in Cape May Harbor (Cape May County), 66 mph at the Atlantic City Marina (Atlantic County), 66 mph in Ocean City (Cape May County), 65 mph in Point Pleasant (Ocean County), 58 mph in Atlantic City (Atlantic County), 58 mph in Sandy Hook (Monmouth County), 58 mph in Brick (Ocean County), 57 mph in Keansburg (Monmouth County), 55 mph in Barnegat Light (Ocean County), 55 mph at Lakehurst NAS (Ocean County), 55 mph at Point Point (Atlantic County), 55 mph in Seaside Heights (Ocean County), 53 mph at Wildwood (Cape May County), 52 mph in Belmar (Monmouth County), 52 mph in Bivalve (Cumberland County), 52 mph in Trenton (Mercer County), 51 mph at Ft Dix-Wrightstown (Burlington County), 50 mph in Wantage (Sussex County), 47 mph in Mount Holly (Burlington County) and 42 mph in Somerville (Somerset County).||Peak storm tides included 9.75 feet above mean lower low water in Sandy Hook (Monmouth County). Severe tidal flooding starts at 8.7 feet above mean lower low water. This was the third highest tide on record and highest tide since the December 1992 nor'easter. Other peak tides included 6.96 feet above mean lower low water in Atlantic City (Atlantic County), moderate tidal flooding starts at 7.0 feet above mean lower low water; 8.55 feet above mean lower low water in Cape May (Cape May County), severe tidal flooding starts at 8.7 feet above mean lower low water; 8.03 feet above mean lower low water at Reedy Island, New Castle County Delaware, moderate tidal flooding starts at 7.2 feet above mean lower low water and 9.89 feet above mean lower low water in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, moderate tidal flooding starts at 9.2 feet above mean lower low water. Along tidal sections of the Delaware River, Big Timber Creek flooded along the Gloucester and Camden County lines and about 300 homes in Burlington City (Burlington County) had flooded basements. ||Hurricane Irene formed east of the Leeward Islands on Saturday the 20th. It moved northeast and passed over Puerto Rico overnight on the 21st. As Irene moved off the island, it intensified into a hurricane. Irene just bypassed the island of Hispaniola to its north and then passed over the Eastern Bahamas on the 25th as it reached category three hurricane strength. From the Bahamas, Irene moved nearly due north and slowly weakened to a category two hurricane on the 26th and a category one hurricane on the 27th. Irene made her initial landfall near Cape Lookout, North Carolina at 8 a.m. EDT on the 27th as a category one and then proceeded to the northnortheast. Irene went back over the Atlantic Ocean near the Virginia and North Carolina border at 7 p.m. EDT on the 27th. From there Irene paralleled the Delmarva Peninsula and the center passed about 15 miles east of Delaware between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. EDT on the 28th. Irene continued to slowly weaken and made her second landfall as a tropical storm on Brigantine Island, just north of Atlantic City, New Jersey at 535 a.m. EDT on the 28th. From there the center of Irene moved along eastern parts of Ocean and Monmouth Counties and was located near Tinton Falls Township in Monmouth County at 8 a.m. EDT on the 28th. At about 9 a.m. EDT the center of Irene passed over New York City.||Irene helped make August 2011 the wettest August on record for the state of New Jersey dating back to 1895. A new August monthly rainfall record of 16.10 inches was established in Trenton.

An approaching cold front helped trigger strong to severe thunderstorms across central and northern New Jersey during the early evening of the 29th. Hardest hit were Sussex, Burlington and Ocean Counties. About 37,000 Jersey Central Power and Light and Public Service Electric and Gas customers lost power in the state. Full power restoration did not occur until Noon EDT on the 31st.

The unseasonably very hot and humid air mass helped trigger isolated strong to severe thunderstorms over central New Jersey during the afternoon of the 22nd. Public Service Electirc and Gas reported about 15,000 of its customers lost power in Burlington and Mercer Counties.

A weak surface trough acted as a trigger to scattered strong to severe thunderstorms that developed across central and northern New Jersey during the second half of the afternoon on the 22nd. There was one storm related death in Ocean County. A funnel cloud was sighted in Ocean County, but did not touch down. Jersey Central Power and Light reported about 10,000 homes and businesses lost power.

A squall line of showers and thunderstorms that preceded a cold front produced wind damage during the early morning on the 17th. The combination of the severe thunderstorms during the early morning and the gradient strong winds during the day of the 17th caused about 35,000 homes and businesses to lose power. All power was restored by Midnight EST on the 18th. More than half of Public Service Electric and Gas's outages occurred in Gloucester, Burlington and Camden Counties. Jersey Central Power and Light's outages were concentrated in Sussex and Morris Counties.

A squall line of strong to severe thunderstorms moved across most of New Jersey during the late afternoon and early evening on the 16th. At the same time, a warm front was advancing north through the state. The added shear or change of wind speed and direction with height near the proximity of this front caused most of the severe thunderstorms as well as one tornado in Ocean County. About 50,000 homes and businesses lost power, many of them in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Counties. All power was restored by the evening of the 17th. Many shore high school football games were postponed because of the dangerous weather.

A powerful nor'easter produced periods of heavy rain along with the strong to high winds across southeastern New Jersey from the 11th through the 14th. While rain began falling on the 11th, the heaviest rain fell on the 12th into the first half of the 13th. The rain ended on the 14th. Event precipitation totals averaged 2 to 5 inches and produced some poor drainage and low lying area flooding. Runoff from streams, creeks and rivers were slowed by the higher than normal tides. The heavy rain also exacerbated the poor drainage and tidal flooding when it coincided with the high tides on the 12th.||Event precipitation totals included 5.50 inches at the Atlantic City Marina (Atlantic County), 3.22 inches in Linwood (Atlantic County), 2.69 inches in Sea Isle City (Cape May County), 2.56 inches in Stafford Township (Ocean County), 2.52 inches in Upper Township (Cape May County), 2.41 inches in Lower Township and Woodbine (Cape May County), 2.24 inches in Middle Township (Cape May County), 2.17 inches at the Atlantic City International Airport (Atlantic County), 1.89 inches in Folsom (Atlantic County) and 1.79 inches in Buena Vista (Atlantic County).| |The nor'easter was originally Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in Alabama on the morning of the 10th. As Ida made landfall, it lost tropical characteristics and transformed into an extratropical low pressure system. On the morning of November 11th, the low pressure system reached southern Georgia and the next morning (12th) it was located over the coastal waters east of Wilmington, North Carolina. The extratropical low pressure system reached its maximum strength of around 995 millibars during the evening of the 12th as it was located just off of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. From there, the low pressure system slowly drifted off the North Carolina coast as it slowly weakened on the 13th and 14th.

A cold front that moved through the state late Friday afternoon helped produce strong to severe thunderstorms during the late afternoon of the 31st. Most of the wind damage occurred as a line of severe thunderstorms known as a bow echo moved across the southern half of the state. About 67,000 homes and businesses lost power, 45,000 within the service area of Atlantic City Electric in the southeastern part of the state.

An intense nor'easter brought heavy rain and flooding to New Jersey that started on the 15th. The worst flooding occurred along the Raritan and Passaic River Basins. It was the worst flooding in the Raritan Basin since Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Bound Brook and Manville were once again hit hard as were communities on the other side of the Raritan River in Middlesex County. Along the Passaic Basin, Lincoln Park also was hit hard. The nor'easter also brought strong to high winds as well as some snow to the state on the 16th. Numerous streams and rivers flooded, but the flooding along the Delaware River was minimal. |Statewide damage was estimated at $180 million dollars. It was the second worst rain storm (not related to a hurricane) in the state's history. Acting Governor Richard J. Codey declared a state of emergency on the 16th. About 5,000 people were evacuated in 11 of the state's 21 counties. At one time over 70 major roadways and interstates were closed including New Jersey State Routes 20, 23, 38, 46, 70 and 73 as well as U.S. Route 30 and Interstates 80 and 380. There were over 700 traffic accidents indirectly caused by the flooding and heavy rain. Three people in the state drowned. The strong winds caused about 120,000 homes and businesses in the state to lose power. Power was not completely restored until the 18th. The combination of the snow, wind (power outages) and flooding caused many school districts to either cancel classes or have delayed openings on the 16th. Even Rutgers University was closed on the 16th and 17th. In the Raritan Basin, school closings lasted into the week of April 23rd. The nor'easter was so nasty that even the Internal Revenue Service extended the tax deadline for 48 hours in affected areas. The heavy and flooding rains was expected to delay the spring planting on farms. Garden center and nursery business which was already slow because of the unseasonably cold weather was dealt another set-back. Twelve counties in the state were declared federal disaster areas and included Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris and Somerset Counties. |Rain began falling throughout the area during the late evening on the 14th. It started briefly as snow over some of the higher terrain of Susse County. The rain fell at its heaviest from about 3 a.m. EDT on the 15th to about 3 a.m. EDT on the 16th. As the upper air disturbance moved across New Jersey, the rain did change to snow for a couple of hours around sunrise on the 16th and accumulated about an inch or two on grassy areas in western New Jersey. The steady precipitation ended during the afternoon and early evening on the 16th. Event precipitation totals averaged 3 to 6 inches. Event snowfall totals were an inch or two in most areas, mainly on grassy areas. |The strongest winds occurred as the nor'easter pulled northeast of the region on the 16th from the early morning into the afternoon. The combination of the heavy rain, even some snow and the winds helped knock down numerous trees and power lines. Peak wind gusts averaged between 40 and 60 mph.|The nor'easter low pressure system initially formed in the southern Rockies on the 12th and moved to Arkansas on the morning of the 14th. At 8 p.m. EDT on the 14th, there were two low pressure systems, one in Kentucky and the other in western Alabama. The southern low pressure system became the predominate one overnight and at 8 a.m. EDT on the 15th, it (996 millibar low) was located in western North Carolina. As the 15th continued, it moved northeast and intensified rapidly. At 2 p.m. EDT the nor'easter (989 millibars) was near Raleigh, North Carolina. At 8 p.m. EDT, the nor'easter was a 979 millibar low pressure system near Virginia Beach, Virginia. Another low pressure system formed on its warm front during the afternoon over Chesapeake Bay and at 8 p.m. EDT it (982 millibars) was over extreme southwest New Jersey. The lows consolidated into one again overnight and a very intense 973 millibar low pressure system was located over Monmouth County, New Jersey at 2 a.m. EDT on the 16th. At 8 a.m. EDT on the 16th the nor'easter was down to 968 millibars and located over New York City. That was a drop in central pressure of 28 millibars in 24 hours which qualified it as a meteorological bomb (a drop in central pressure of at least 24 millibars in 24 hours) low pressure system. The nor'easter bottomed at a pressure of about 966 millibars (28.53 inches) at 11 a.m. EDT just south of Long Island, New York. To put into prospective how low the pressure was with this nor'easter, that central pressure is near the border of the pressure defined category 2 and category 3 hurricane once used on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale. As the 16th continued, the nor'easter weakened and meandered across southwest New England and the New York and New Jersey coastal waters. By 2 a.m. EDT on the 17th, the nor'easter's central pressure rose to 988 millibars and a second storm formed on the triple point of its fronts south of Nova Scotia. This became the main low pressure system. The low pressure system then slowly moved southeast over the next couple of days. The heaviest precipitation fell as the low pressure system was rapidly intensifying on the 15th into the early part of the 16th. The strongest winds ceased after the low pressure system started to fill on the afternoon of the 16th.

The combination of a strong high pressure system to the north and a nor'easter low pressure system that passed to the east of New Jersey, produced strong to high winds along coastal areas from Ocean County southward. It also caused heavy rain to fall during the afternoon and evening on the 16th across southeast New Jersey and minor tidal flooding during the morning high tide on the 17th. Storm totals averaged 1.5 to 3.0 inches across southeast New Jersey. The rain started across the region during the evening of the 15th. The heaviest rain fell during the afternoon and evening of the 16th. Precipitation changed to a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain before it ended across interior sections of Atlantic and Ocean Counties. All precipitation ended around 1 a.m. EDT on the 17th. The strongest winds mainly occurred during the afternoon and evening of the 16th. That was when the tightest pressure gradient (difference in surface pressure between the high and low pressure system) occurred along the coast of New Jersey. |The high winds caused a few scattered outages and the heavy rain caused minor flooding. Other than the evening high tide on the 16th at Sandy Hook (Monmouth County), all other minor tidal flooding occurred on the morning of the 17th after the precipitation had ended. | |Storm totals included 3.25 inches in Cape May (Cape May County), 3.10 inches in Point Pleasant (Ocean County), 2.54 inches in Forsythe (Atlantic County), 2.41 inches in Estell Manor (Atlantic County, 2.03 inches in Seaville (Cape May County) and 1.75 inches in Absecon (Atlantic County) and 1.71 inches at the Atlantic City International Airport (Atlantic County). Peak wind gusts included 61 mph at the Cape May County Airport, 60 mph at the Atlantic City International Airport, 58 mph in Seaside Heights (Ocean County), 56 mph in Barnegat (Ocean County), 54 mph at the Cape May Ferry Terminal (Cape May County), 46 mph at the Atlantic City Marina (Atlantic County) and 45 mph in Avalon (Cape May County). The highest tides included 6.89 feet above mean lower low water in Sandy Hook (Monmouth County) and 6.73 feet above mean lower low water in Cape May (Cape May County). Minor tidal flooding starts at 6.7 feet above mean lower low water. |The heavy rain, tidal flooding and strong to high winds were caused by a nor'easter low pressure system that developed on a cold front that moved through the area on the 15th. The low pressure system formed over South Carolina and Georgia on the morning of the 16th and moved northeast. At 2 p.m. EDT on the 16th, it was near Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; at 8 p.m. EDT that evening, it was just east of Virginia Beach; at 2 a.m. EDT on the 17th, it was about 100 miles east of Atlantic City, New Jersey and was about 100 miles south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts at 8 a.m. EDT on the 17th. As central pressures go, this was not particularly a powerful system; it was only 996 millibars the morning of the 17th. What contributed to the event was the strong high pressure system (about 1040 millibars the morning of the 16th). It supplied the fresh cold air and increased the pressure gradient (and consequently the wind) between itself and the developing nor'easter low pressure system. This difference (and thus the winds) peaked during the afternoon and evening of the 16th.

The combination of the remnants of Tropical Storm Ernnesto and a large high pressure system over eastern Canada produced heavy rain and flooding, strong and in some cases damaging winds, tidal flooding and beach erosion in New Jersey. The coastal counties were hit the hardest with both the tidal and inland flooding and high winds. Wind gusts in Cape May County reached to around 80 mph. Downed trees damaged homes, vehicles and churches. Over 200,000 homes and businesses lost power with more than half of the outages in southeastern New Jersey's Atlantic City Electric Service area. Over 260 wires were knocked down. All power was restored by the 5th. The Delaware Bay Buoy set an all-time record high wave height for September, 22.3 feet. Ten to fifteen foot waves were crashing along the shore line and enhanced rip currents and rough surf persisted through the 6th. Many Labor Day Weekend (storm hit hardest on Friday the 1st and Saturday the 2nd) activities were cancelled or postponed. Revenue was lost from people cancelling vacation plans. Rain spread from south to north during the day on the 1st and ended from south to north during the second half of the day on the 2nd. The heaviest rain fell during the day on the 2nd. Storm totals averaged one to three inches with amounts up to 5 inches in coastal counties. The heavy rain produced poor drainage flooding as well as some stream and creek flooding. In addition to the heavy rain, persistent and strong east to northeast winds caused tree and structural damage as the heavy rain loosened the root support and weighed down limbs. The strongest winds occurred overnight on the 1st into the morning of the 2nd. Atlantic facing beaches sustained severe erosion with localized damage to dune systems in Cape May, Ocean and Atlantic Counties. Moderate coastal flooding was reported in Raritan Bay with the afternoon high tide on the 2nd. In Monmouth County vertical cuts averaged 3 to 6 feet with many coastal municipalities reported wind blown sand, up to one foot deep. Asbury Park estimated it lost 30 percent of its beach. In Ocean County vertical cuts averaged 3 to 6 feet (with widths up to 100 feet wide) from Island Beach State Park northward and generally 2 to 4 feet from Barnegat Light southward. Lavellette reported severe damage to their dunes. All coastal municipalities reported wind blown sand. In Atlantic County, vertical cuts averaged 1 to 3 feet except in Atlantic City where they averaged three to four feet along with moderate damage to the dunes. In Cape May County, Ocean City had vertical cuts that reached 6 feet with severe damage to their dunes. In Strathmere and Sea Isle City, moderate dune damage was reported. The Geotubes were exposed at Whale Beach. Vertical cuts elsewhere in cape May County averaged 2 to 5 feet, but widths reached up to 150 feet in Wildwood and Wildwood Crest. Minor tidal flooding was reported with the afternoon high tide on the 1stIn Cumberland County, about 4,500 homes and businesses lost power because of downed trees, with the greatest concentration in Bridgeton. Many businesses were closed on Saturday the 2nd because of the lack of power. The marquee of the Upper Deerfield Shopping Center was damaged by the winds. Crops were also beat down by the wind. Downed trees blocked several roadways and damaged at least one home in Vineland. Boats were beached ay Hancock Harbor as waves reached 4 to 6 feet in Upper Delaware Bay and tides were two and a half feet higher than normal.In Cape May County, the high winds caused a three story building under construction in Wildwood to collapse. In Ocean City, a couple of boats were pushed into the New Jersey State Route 52 Causeway and closed the bridge for 10 hours. Several boats in Cape May Harbor also came lose and became beached. In North Wildwood, the roof of the Montego Bay Resort was partially torn away. The hotel was briefly evacuated. Downed trees damaged homes in North Wildwood and Cape May Court House. Waves at the beaches reached 10 to 15 feet. At high tide on the 1st, back bay flooding occurred in Avalon and up to three feet of water on the roads in Sea Isle City. Cape May County was the hardest hit of all their service area and was the last area to have power restored on the 5th.In Atlantic County, a home in Northfield was damaged by a split tree. Four boats in Port Republic sank, 5 others were damaged. Two bridges were closed in the county because of poor drainage flooding near their bases. Flooding along the Black Horse Pike (U.S. Routes 40 and 322) in Egg Harbor Township also forced its closure. In Ocean County, the roof off a bath house was torn away at Seaside Park. Over 500 power lines were knocked down in both Ocean and Monmouth counties by downed trees as 37,000 homes and businesses lost power. In Loveladies, vehicles were blocked in by blowing sand. In Monmouth County, the strong wind tore down numerous trees throughout the county and ripped boats from their moorings in Atlantic Highlands. Two sailors were injured at the Earle Naval Weapons station when a downed tree fell onto their van. In Atlantic Highlands, about 21 boats broke free from their moorings, six were beached, four ran aground on rocks. Some were pushed as far west as the Naval Weapons Station Earle Pier. Damage to them was in the millions. Also about 200 feet of decking came off at high tide at Frank's Pier. The deck was repaired in time for ferry service to resume on the 4th. Trees fell through homes in Ocean Township and Neptune. Jersey Central Power and Light distributed water and ice as power was not fully restored in the county until the evening of the 4th. The racing card was cancelled on the 2nd in Monmouth Park. In Middletown Township, tidal flooding on the 2nd caused the Waackaack Creek to flood and stranded motorists. Roads were also flooded by the high tide in Union Beach. In Middlesex County, a downed tree damaged a home in East Brunswick. Trees in both Johnson and Roosevelt Parks were badly damaged. Sand eroded away from underneath the sidewalk at the Waterfront Park in South Amboy. A circus event was postponed because the tents could not be erected because of the strong winds. In Morris County, about 8,000 homes and businesses lost power. In Hunterdon County, about 100 trees were knocked down in 18 municipalities. In Burlington County, about 3,800 homes and businesses lost power. U.S. Route 206 was closed in Pemberton and Southampton because of downed trees. In Camden County, the Cooper River flooded in Collingswood and the westbound lanes of the Adam Wilson Boulevard were closed due to flooding in Camden. Tidal flooding also occurred along Newton Creek up through Collingswood. In Gloucester County, downed trees damaged one home in Gibbsboro and a pool in Deptford.The Cooper River at Haddonfield (Camden County) was above its 2.8 foot flood stage from 1034 a.m. EDT through 735 p.m. EDT on the 2nd. It crested at 2.97 feet at 345 p.m. EDT. The North Branch of the Metedeconk Creek at Lakewood (Ocean County) was above its 7 foot flood stage from 107 a.m. through 1005 p.m. EDT on the 3rd. It crested at 7.41 feet at 6 a.m. EDT. The Manasquan River at Squankum (Monmouth County) was above its 7.5 foot flood stage from 1145 p.m. EDT on the 2nd through 1100 a.m. EDT on the 3rd. It crested at 8.23 feet at 515 a.m. EDT on the 3rd. Actual storm totals included 5.05 inches in Marlborough (Monmouth County), 5.00 inches in Wset Cape May (Cape May County), 4.92 inches in Margate (Atlantic County), 4.25 inches in Cape May Courthouse (Cape May County), 4.20 inches in Chatsworth (Burlington County), 3.44 inches in Pequannock (Morris County), 3.36 inches in Vineland (Cumberland County), 3.29 inches in Hammonton (Atlantic County) and Cape May (Cape May County), 3.19 inches in Cream Ridge (Monmouth County), 3.18 inches in Deans (Middlesex County), 3.12 inches in Estell Manor (Atlantic County), 3.04 inches in Boonton (Morris County), 2.98 inches in Woodbine (Cape May County), 2.93 inches in Point Pleasant (Ocean County), 2.86 inches in Somerdale (Camden County), 2.80 inches in Pennsauken (Camden County), 2.77 inches in Willingboro (Burlington County), 2.75 inches in Princeton (Mercer County) 2.68 inches in Middlesex (Middlesex County), 2.65 inches in Westampton (Burlington County), 2.63 inches in Pittsgrove (Salem County), 2.52 inches in Wertsville (Hunterdon County), 2.44 inches in West Deptford (Gloucester County), 2.40 inches in Bound Brook (Somerset County), 2.32 inches in Trenton (Mercer County), 2.30 inches in Clinton (Hunterdon County), 1.93 inches in Seabrook (Cumberland County) and 1.80 inches in Pottersville (Somerset County). Peak wind gusts included 81 mph in Strathmere (Cape May County), 75 mph in North Wildwood (Cape May County), 72 mph in Ocean City (Cape May County), 68 mph in Cape May (Cape May County), 58 mph in Atlantic City (Atlantic County), 55 mph in Keansburg (Monmouth County), 54 mph in Sandy Hook (Monmouth County), 53 mph in Seaside Heights (Ocean County, 50 mph in Point Pleasant (Ocean County), 46 mph in Millville (Cumberland County) and 44 mph in Wrightstown (Burlington County). The low pressure system that was Ernesto moved slowly north from around Petersburg, Virginia at 5 p.m. EDT on the 1st, to near Fredericksburg, Virginia at 11 p.m. EDT on the 1st, passed close to Washington D.C. at 5 a.m. EDT on the 2nd, near Hagerstown, Maryland at 8 a.m. EDT on the 2nd, near Altoona, Pennsylvania at 2 p.m. EDT on the 2nd and accelerated northward and was just southeast of Buffalo, New York at 2 a.m. EDT on the 3rd. Of greater importance, was a strong high pressure system (greater than 1032 millibars) that remained over southeastern Canada and maintained the pressure gradient (difference) between it and the remnant low of Ernesto.

A total of 1,100 customers lost power during the afternoon of June 24th in Point Pleasant as wires were knocked down from lightning strikes.

Lightning struck the chimney of an unoccupied Harvey Cedars home. It caused a small kitchen fire before it was extinguished. The lightning also blew a transformer on the street and caused a power outage to homes on the street for several hours.

Thunderstorms with frequent lightning caused power outages across southern Ocean County and northern Atlantic County. Atlantic City Electric reported about 4,500 homes and businesses lost power in the two counties. The outages were concentrated in Galloway Township in Atlantic County and Stafford and Eagleswood Township in Ocean County. All power was restored by 7 p.m. EDT that evening.

A severe thunderstorm downed numerous large tree limbs, a few trees and wires in northern Ocean County from Jackson Township southeast through Lacey Township. Marble size hail damaged one house in Lacey Township. The downed trees, limbs and wires caused about 6,000 homes and businesses to lose power in Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

A severe thunderstorm downed numerous large tree limbs, a few trees and wires in Stafford Township. Power outages even affected the police headquarters. Marble size hail also fell during the severe thunderstorm. The downed trees, limbs and wires caused about 6,000 homes and businesses to lose power in Monmouth and Ocean Counties.

Thunderstorms with frequent cloud-to-ground caused power outages and some minor damage to homes across the northern half of Ocean County. About 3,000 homes and businesses lost power in Ocean and neighboring Monmouth County. All power was restored by the 22nd. Around 600 cloud-to-ground lightning strikes occurred in Ocean and Monmouth Counties between 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. EDT. In Brick Township, two homes were struck by lightning on Church Road and the ensuing fires caused minor damage. Power outages in Ocean County were concentrated in Manchester Township, Brick Township, Lakewood Township, Bay Head Borough, Mantoloking Borough and Point Pleasant Borough.

Lightning strikes caused power outages in Dover, Jackson and Manchester Townships. About 1,000 homes and businesses lost power with the greatest concentration in Holiday City. In Jackson Township, about 20 passengers were stuck on a roller coaster at Six Flags after power was lost.

Frequent cloud-to-ground lightning caused about 7,000 Jersey Central Power and Light customers to lose power in central New Jersey. In Ocean County, hardest hit were Dover and Brick Townships. Power was not completely restored until 2 a.m. EDT on the 14th in Toms River.

A lightning strike caused about 20 homes to lose power in Brant Beach on Long Beach Boulevard around 46th Street.

A squall line of showers produced wind gusts as strong as 70 mph mainly along the coastal communities of Ocean County. Trees and downed wires were reported in Beach Haven Borough, Berkeley Township, Dover Township, Island Heights Borough, Pine Beach Borough and Waretown (Ocean Township). A wind gust to 57 mph was measured at the Point Pleasant Coast Guard Station. In Berkeley Township, the greatest concentration of trees and wires that were knocked down were in the Holly Park section. The winds also pulled part of the roof from the Beachwood Plaza. Similarly in Dover Township, the wind tore part of the roof from a J.C. Penney store in the Ocean County Mall. A house under construction in the township partially collapsed on Catalina Drive. Dune fencing was knocked down in both Bay Head and Mantoloking Boroughs. Conectiv Energy reported about 4,700 of its customers lost power in southern New Jersey from Ocean County to Cape May County. Jersey Central Power and Light reported about 12,000 of its customers lost power in Ocean County. Numerous small fires were caused by exploding transformers. The low pressure system that helped mix the near hurricane force winds aloft down to the surface moved from the lower Chesapeake Bay at 4 p.m. EST on the 14th to Delaware Bay at 7 p.m. EST on the 14th to Hammonton, New Jersey at 10 p.m. EST on the 14th and then just south of Jones Beach, New York at 1 a.m. EST on the 15th.

A line of severe thunderstorms pulled down numerous large tree limbs, several trees and wires in Dover and Manchester Townships. About 6,000 homes and businesses lost power in the county.

A funnel cloud was sighted by SKYWARN Spotters over Jackson Township. While it never touched down, the parent thunderstorm cloud produced damaging wind gusts from Plumsted Township east through Lakewood Township along the northern tier of Ocean County. Downed trees and power lines were reported. The largest downed trees were reported in the Colliers Mills section of Jackson Township. New Jersey Central Power and Light reported about 13,000 of its customers lost power in the county. All power was restored by 930 p.m. EDT that evening.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down trees and power lines in Jackson Township, Lakehurst Borough and South Toms River Borough. Trees up to two feet in diameter were knocked down in South Toms River Borough. Power outages because of the downed wires occurred at Six Flags/Great Adventure in Jackson Township. Trash cans and toys were strewn in Lakehurst.

The gust front from a line of severe thunderstorms moved through Ocean County during the evening of the second. The damaging winds knocked down power lines and several trees, mainly in the northeast half of the county. Hardest hit was the Toms River area of Dover Township. Power was not fully restored until the morning of the 5th. At Six Flags/Great Adventure in Jackson Township, 23 people were stranded on a cable car ride for nearly an hour after power was lost. Large limbs were also knocked down at the park. About 200,000 Jersey Central Power and Light customers lost power because of the thunderstorms, 168,000 were in Monmouth County. A peak wind gust of 77 mph was measured at Barnegat Light.

Lightning struck the roof of a vacant two story building in Bayville during the afternoon of the 19th. The ensuing fire was extinguished in about 20 minutes, but still damaged the second story of the building. As firefighters were cleaning the scene, another bolt of lightning struck the ground about 30 feet from a fire truck. It traveled to the truck and injured a firefighter who had his hand on a metal casing at the time of lightning strike. His arm went numb. Jersey Central Power and Light reported that 5,000 of its customers lost power due to the winds and lightning on the 19th in Ocean and Monmouth Counties.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down a few trees, limbs and wires in Jackson Township. Jersey Central Power and Light reported that 5,000 of its customers lost power due to the winds and lightning on the 19th in Ocean and Monmouth Counties.

Lightning strikes knocked out power to 4,900 Conectiv Power Delivery customers in Berkeley Township including the Silver Ridge Park and Holiday City adult communities.

Lightning strikes knocked out power to about 10,000 Conectiv Energy customers in the Chatsworth-Tabernacle area in Burlington County and the Ship Bottom area of Ocean County between 6 p.m. and 630 p.m. EDT. Subsequent lightning strikes knocked out power to about 3,600 Conectiv Energy customers in Beach Haven around 830 p.m. EDT.

Lightning struck a shopping center in Manahawkin (Stafford Township) during the late afternoon of the 6th. The subsequent fire started from sparks from an electrical transformer box that the lightning struck. The fire was contained by 6 p.m. EDT, but two stores in the shopping center suffered smoke damage. The stores were evacuated without any injuries. Lightning also struck seven homes in Stafford Township. A couple of the homes struck on Bay Avenue suffered some minor damage. Lightning strikes caused about 6,000 Conectiv Energy customers to lose power in Ocean County.

Lightning struck eight homes in Brick Township and started fires. Fireworks stored in one home hampered fire fighters. One of the homes burned to the ground and injured two fire fighters. A man was struck by lightning and hospitalized. Lightning outages forced the township police department to use backup power.

A severe thunderstorm dropped golf ball size hail and caused damaging winds in and around Toms River. Windows were blown out of one home in Toms River. There were twenty-six separate calls of downed trees in Toms River. In Beachwood, a trampoline was tossed into a neighbor's tree and a flagpole was snapped in half. Several trees were also knocked down. Pool furniture was tossed into the air in Pine Beach. It took until the 29th for power to be totally restored to the area.

A line of strong thunderstorms was a prolific lightning producer as it moved across New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland. About 3,000 cloud to ground strokes occurred per hour as this line moved across the region. Lightning strikes caused 50,000 homes and businesses to lose power in Ocean and Monmouth Counties. Hardest hit locations (all in Ocean County) included Berkeley Township, Lakewood Township, Long Beach Township, Manchester Township, Point Pleasant Borough and Seaside Park Borough. The worst reported property damage occurred when lightning struck the cupola of the Bay Head (Ocean County) Yacht Club. The ensuing fire damaged the cupola and roof area while the rest of the building suffered water damage. No serious injuries were reported.

A lightning strike ignited a fire in adjacent homes in the Money Island section of Dover Township. The fire damaged the contents of one home, while the fire was confined to the attic and roof of the second home. Frequent lightning caused power outages to about 1,600 homes and businesses in Ocean County.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down trees and power lines in Plumstead Township. Many power lines were knocked down within the township. Later that evening the same storm took down trees and power lines in Island Heights Borough and Toms River. One downed tree damaged a vehicle in Toms River. GPU Energy reported about 8,000 homes and businesses lost power in Ocean and neighboring Monmouth County.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Allison produced showers and thunderstorms with heavy rain during the morning of the 17th. This caused small stream and poor drainage flooding in the county with the worst reported flooding near and along the shore. No serious injuries were reported. In Point Pleasant Beach, six roadways were closed including New Jersey State Route 35. New Jersey State Route 35 was also closed in Ship Bottom where the flooding was described as severe. There were several water rescues including one of an elderly woman in Ortley Beach. The heavy downpours and gusty winds knocked down some weakened trees and caused isolated power outages. The North Branch of the Metedeconk River at Lakewood reached its 7 foot flood stage at 430 p.m. EDT on the 17th, crested at 8 feet at 10 p.m. EDT on the 17th and was back within bankfull at 340 a.m. EDT on the 18th. Storm totals included 8.10 inches in Tuckerton, 3.50 inches in Manahawkin and 2.65 inches in Bayville. The low pressure system that was the remnants of Tropical Storm Allison, was very persistent and slow moving. It moved from northeast North Carolina the afternoon of the 15th to near Norfolk the morning of the 16th to the Virginia Capes during the afternoon of the 16th and just east of Atlantic City during the morning of the 17th before accelerating faster offshore.

An unseasonably warm air mass and an intense low pressure system and cold front set the stage for an extremely windy day across New Jersey on December 17th. Thunderstorms embedded within bands of heavy precipitation exacerbated the wind and in some instances became severe. This was the case in Ocean County. Severe thunderstorms knocked down several trees and power lines throughout the county.

A severe thunderstorm knocked down several trees in New Egypt in Plumstead Township. GPU reported that 6,500 homes and businesses lost power in Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean Townships.

Thunderstorms with frequent lightning caused minor damage to two homes in Toms River and also caused about 18,000 GPU Energy customers to lose power. Most of the outages were in Berkeley Township, Point Pleasant and Toms River. Most of the power was restored the morning of the 4th. Two houses within Toms River were struck by lightning, but only minor damage and no injuries occurred.