Wind gusts in excess of 40 mph wreaked havoc in North Jersey on Saturday afternoon, with downed trees, power outages and damaged buildings reported around the area.
In Pompton Lakes, strong winds blew down a gas station canopy and damaged a bank, the fire department said. As of 4 p.m., part of Route 10 in Morris County was closed due to a fallen tree, and nearly 300 flights at Newark Liberty International Airport were delayed or canceled
“Very strong winds with high gusts. Both the Delta Gas Station in Pompton Lakes and the Columbia Bank in Pompton Lakes sustained damage from the high winds,” the Pompton Lakes Volunteer Fire Department warned on Facebook, posting a photo of a gas station canopy that had flipped on its side.
“Please be careful when walking and driving. Have a blanket, some dry snacks and a flashlight in your car. Wind chill will drop below zero and skin can freeze quickly.”
Meanwhile, westbound Route 10 at Center Grove Road is closed due to a tree that fell on the road, the town of Randolph said in a news release. “Please avoid the area and use alternative routes,” the town asked.
How strong are the winds in New Jersey?
The National Weather Service issued a high wind warning for New Jersey at midnight Saturday. The Rutgers New Jersey Weather Network recorded maximum gusts of 44 mph in Chester in southern Morris County and 62 mph in Little Egg Harbor, according to its website. The Bureau of Meteorology said an extreme cold warning will also remain in effect until Sunday morning, with wind chills of -25 degrees Celsius possible at times.
Gusts are expected to weaken on Sunday, but the National Weather Service forecast still says strong winds will continue, possibly causing temperatures to drop by 5 to 15 degrees.
More: New Jersey faces “dangerously cold” weather and high winds. When will things get better?
power failure
As winds picked up in the afternoon, so did reports of localized power outages.
As of 4:30 p.m., Central Jersey Power & Light reported nearly 3,300 customers were without power and called in extra crews to help.
“We are monitoring high winds and frigid temperatures across our service areas on February 7. More than 900 additional line crews are on standby to respond to any outages,” the utility said on its website. “We know how much of an impact losing power during this cold weather can have, and if an outage occurs, we will restore service as quickly and safely as possible.”
JCP&L said problems can be reported by texting OUT to 544487, going online to firstenergycorp.com/outages or calling (888) 544-4877.
New Jersey utility PSE&G experienced 107 outages around the same time, affecting 3,400 customers. To report a gas leak, downed power lines or other hazardous situation to PSE&G, call the company’s emergency hotline at 1-800-880-PSEG (7734).
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: North Jersey winds cause damage, power outages, flight delays
