Much of New Jersey remains out of power after Friday’s thunderstorms tore down trees and powerlines and led to a statewide road cleanup. The sudden storm on Friday was felt across the state and affected many neighborhoods as people geared up for the 4th of July Weekend.
Maia Richardson, a 22-year-old Matawan Borough of New Jersey resident spoke of the damages she saw in Matawan and surrounding towns. “The storm was unexpected until the last minute. My friends and myself got no alerts about it at all which is very alarming considering the amount of damage it caused. My friend was out of power for three whole days which is terrifying during a heat wave.
“Many people have had to go to local hotels to remain in air conditioning to escape the heat wave. Mid-day yesterday a few of my friends booked a hotel as the temperatures inside surpassed 90 degrees. Their food rotted and they couldn’t take the heat anymore,” said Richardson.
Anybody coming home Friday night was in for widespread road closures as fallen trees and powerlines littered the road. Richardson, who had to commute to visit her partner in Morris Plains, had her ride extend from a usual 50-minute drive to an hour and a half.
“The highways were fine but many roads were left closed without anywhere to detour which was very frustrating. You can only navigate so much with a GPS and driving in circles in a heavy storm was just infuriating,” said Richardson.
To make matters worse, many people across the state had power restored and then cut out shortly after as Saturday’s storms whipped against an already beaten down power grid. Nick Castro, a 47-year-old Morris Plains resident rushed back to a hotel after Saturday’s storm as he re-lost power in his home. “This is ridiculous. I have had to book a room after Friday’s storm and rebook on Sunday morning. I may have to take off work Monday to refill my fridge thanks to my food rotting and tree branches that are all over my yard,” said Castro.
With this upcoming week of nonstop stormy weather, many hope that they will not again lose power and will be able to commute to and from work without widespread road closures. PSE&G, JCP&L and other providers, whose staff have been working round the clock, have estimated that power will be restored between Monday and Wednesday.
Patch Media, a local news and information platform, has reported that most of northern and western New Jersey is under a flood watch as a result of the week’s predicted storms, while the southern parts of the state remain under a heat advisory.
