1,200 Without Power Monday Morning In Middletown

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Thousands are currently without electric power Monday morning in Middletown, Monmouth County and up and down the Jersey Shore, as a relentless late-winter blizzard has not let up its assault on New Jersey.

As of 10 a.m. Monday, approximately 1,200 people are without power in Middletown, said Mayor Tony Perry. That number was higher in the overnight hours.

Middletown Twp. has a warming station open at Croydon Hall and the Twp. DPW and police will pick people up and take them there if their homes lost power, Perry reminds residents.

However, nobody has called to use the warming shelter so far, he said Monday morning.

"We were good until about 10 p.m. last night," said Perry. "That's when the wind picked up and big pockets (of town) started losing power."

Middletown DPW crews have been working "around the clock, all night long" to clear roads so JCP&L crews can get to substations and get power back online, said Perry. He said the method has been working, and JCP&L has been able to restore power to many homes pretty quickly after it goes out.

Also, Middletown Police and DPW crews responded "all night long" to 911 calls of cars stuck in the snow, he said. Still, there were no serious accidents or snow-related incidents to report.

"And this is not over yet," said Perry. "We have about 14 inches on the ground and another several hours to go. This is not over."

Please call the Middletown Township Police Department at 732-615-2100 if you need to get to a warming station. If there is a demand, the Middletown Township Office of Emergency Management will open warming stations based on the locations of potential power outages.

And thousands remain without power Monday morning all along the Jersey Shore: More than 77, 000 customers were without power Sunday night and still huge swaths of Monmouth are without power Monday. Power also went out overnight in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands.

Before the storm started, JCP&L mobilized more than 2,000 utility personnel and strategically positioned crews throughout their service area to ensure a rapid and effective response.

The statewide New Jersey travel ban has been extended to noon Monday, which means it is illegal to be on any road in the state, except for the NJ Turnpike, which is exempt from the travel ban. All 21 New Jersey counties remain under a blizzard warning.

Monmouth County is under a blizzard warning through 6 p.m. Monday, According to National Weather Service Mount Holly, the amount of snow forecasted is 20-24".

"This is a very serious storm and I urge all residents to stay inside and stay safe," said Gov. Mikie Sherrill.

Residents can report an outage to JCP&L through any of the following methods:
• Call: 1 888 LIGHTSS (1 888 544 4877)
• Text: OUT to 544487 (LIGHTS)
• Online: Visit firstenergycorp.com and click “Outages”