Damaging Wind in New Jersey, August 16, 1997

A squall line of severe thunderstorms caused widespread tree damage and killed one person in sussex County. Most of the wind damage occurred in the northeast half of the county. Other reports of downed trees in the rest of the county came mainly from Greendell and Stillwater Township. A 64-year-old man was killed by a falling tree outside of his home in Green Township. Franklin Borough was one of the hardest hit locations within the county. A limited state of emergency was declared. New Jersey State Route 23 was closed as were five other major roadways within the borough. Several trees fell on and damaged homes. Siding was ripped from a few homes and a couple of decks and railings were ripped away from other homes. Part of Hardin Lumber's roof was blown away. In addition to the wind damage, the frequent lightning ignited two houses on fire. Sussex Borough was also hard hit and also declared a state of emergency. Six major roads were closed because of fallen trees, some through the 17th. A couple of planes at Sussex County Airport were flipped over. Pieces of these planes were found in the woods. Trees as high as 150 feet were uprooted. In Sparta Township, two major roads were also closed (including County Road 517). Other locations that reported wind damage in the county included Fredon Township, Hopatcong, Lafayette Township, Vernon and Wantage. In Vernon, the damaging winds wreaked havoc at the Vernon Day celebration and scattered debris all over Vernon Crossings Fields. This squall line caused numerous power outages throughout the northern half of New Jersey as falling trees took down electrical wires. About 97,000 GPU customers lost power that day in the northern half of the state. About 16,000 customers in Sussex and Morris Counties still did not have power restored to them on the morning of the 18th.