Severe Storm Downs Trees, Sparks Wire Fire, Power Outages, Road Closures In NJ

Thousands are without power, and multiple roads are closed across New Jersey after a powerful storm passed through the area overnight.

The National Weather Service reported wind gustsas high as 74mph in Avalon, Cape May County. Surf City in Ocean County reported 67 mph wind gusts followed by 64mph in Key Port in Monmouth County.

As of 8: 15 a.m., 11,813 JCP&L customers are without power. It is unclear when power will be restored.

"Crews are making significant progress assessing damage and making repairs to restore power to all affected customers. Restoration estimates will be available later today. Please remember to treat all downed lines as live and dangerous and stay at least 30 feet away from them and anything they may be touching. We thank you for your patience," said JCP&L.

PSE&G is reporting 10,406 customers without power as of 8:20 a.m. in New Jersey. Power could be restored by 2 p.m. on Tuesday or as late as 1 a.m. on Wednesday.

To help residents without power Bernards Township is opening its Town Hall to the public on Tuesday as a charging/warming center due to some power outages in the area from storm.

NJ Transit rail service was also impacted by the storm. Due to earlier downed trees in the overhead wires, NJ TRANSIT rail service could see up to 20-minute delays into and out of Penn Station New York.

NJ TRANSIT rail tickets and passes are being cross honored by PATH at Newark, Hoboken, and 33rd Street, New York.

Multiple roads are also closed across the state, including Route 206 in Hillsborough in both directions between Camplain Road and Valley Road due to a tree down on wires. The highway will remain closed for around 6 to 8 hours. Drivers are asked to use the posted detour.

Downed tree and wires has caused Route 206 North in Lawrence Township to close at Province Line Road.

On Interstate 287 South, a downed tree is blocking the highway north of Exit 26 - CR 525/Mount Airy Rd. in Bernards Twp. As a result, two of the three lanes and the right shoulder are closed.

Now that the Severe Thunderstorm Watch has expired. The Garden State now return to much cooler weather for the next few days. Rain and snow showers lingering overnight.

"It'll be cold today with gusty winds. These are the forecasted high temperatures for Tuesday. Wind chills will make the day seem 5 to 10 degrees colder however," according to the National Weather Service.

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