The National Weather Service issued a more serious severe thunderstorm warning for Morris, Warren and Sussex counties, with winds up to 60 mph, and potential damage to roofs and trees
MORRISTOWN -- The National Weather Service has issued a severeA thunderstorm watch for all of New Jersey that remains in effect until 10 p.m. on Sunday, with a more specific warning for Morris, Warren and Sussex counties.
The watch and a 5:06 p.m. thurderstorm warning for the three northern counties was issued by the weather service's Mount Holly station said storms were moving east from the Delaware Water Gap at a speed of 40 mph.
The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Morris, Warren and Sussex counties, areas indicated by the color orange, while a less serious thunderstorm watch was issued for rest of the state, in pink.A The warning reported winds of up to 60 mph, with anticipated damage to rooftops, siding and trees.
The weather service said individual locations likely to be hit included Newton, Dover, Hopatcong, Hackettstown, Wharton, Washingtion, Rockaway, Blairstown, Bangor, Mt. Arlington, Franklin, Mendham, Stanhope, Hamburg, Netcong, Belvidere, Harmony, Oxford and Ogdensburg.
"For your protection," the bulliten stated, "move to an interior room on the lowest floor of a building."
The storm blew through southwestern New Jersey for several minutes early in the evening, then blew right out, continuing east toward the shore and leaving behind felled trees in its wake in areas of Salem and Gloucester counties.
Thousands of homes lose power during storm
Northeastern New Jersey, including Essex and Bergen counties, was also hit by sudden bursts of wind and rain that caused damage.
A PSE&G crew tried to restore power on Harvard Street in Mondtclair on Sunday night, when about 5,000 customers statewide lost power, the utility said. A
In Rutherford, a tree fell on a house and power lines, knocking out power to an unspecified number of homes at about 6:30 p.m., said Sgt, Craig Capoano of the Rutherford Police Department.
No one was reported injured, said Capoano, who said a PSE&G crew had been called to the scene to restore power.
A spokeswoman for PSE&G, Deanne Muzikar, said a total of 5,000 customers lost power throughout New Jersey at one time or another on Sunday, most of them in the southern part of the state, particularly Gloucester County.
At the height of the storm, 19,000 Atlantic City Electric customers in South Jersey were without power due to winds and rains taking down power lines, according to the utility.
After the storm, from Hoboken.
The majority of service to the Atlantic City Electric customers is expected to be restored later Sunday evening, according to utility spokesman Frank Tedesco, as work crews assess the level of damage to power lines and work to safely and quickly fix them.
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