High Winds Wreak Havoc In NJ Leaving Roads Closed, Hundreds Without Power

Wind gusts up to 50 mph were wreaking havoc across New Jersey on Friday, Aug. 9.

As of 2:30 p.m., thousands of residents were without power and multiple roadways were closed due to downed wires and related crashes.

The National Weather Service also issued a new tornado watch across North Jersey. An earlier watch for South Jersey and much of Pennsylvania has been lifted. Click here to see the counties covered by the new watch, in effect through 10 p.m.

In Hackensack, nearly 500 PSE&G customers had lost power, and more than 450 in Maywood, as of 2:15 p.m.

In Brick Township and Millstone, more than 500 residents were without power. Two-hundred people were without power in Holmdel and more than 400 in Flemington, the JCP&L outage map shows.

In Evesham, more than 660 PSE&G customers were in the dark. In Washington Township (Gloucester County), more than 400 customers did not have power.

In Flemington, a crash was reported on Route 12, downing wires, which may be the cause of the outage (as opposed to high winds).

Atlantic City Electric was reporting more than 560 outages in Cumberland County and 700 in Gloucester County.

Hundreds of residents were also in the dark in Long Valley, Knowlton, and Hardwick. Sporadic outages were being reported across Warren, Morris, Sussex, and Hunterdon counties.

The following roads were closed as of press time, according to the NJDOT:

• Route 17 north exit ramp to Sheridan Avenue in Waldwick, all lanes closed due to downed tree
• Route 24 west in Morris Township at Exit 1, one lane closed due to downed tree
• Route 29 north at Byram Kingswood Road, all lanes closed due to downed tree
• Kinderkamack Road in Hillsdale closed due to downed tree
• Route 206 in Bedminster at Lamington Road, all lanes closed due to downed tree

Meanwhile, a tornado watch was in effect for much of the region as Hurricane Debby nears.