High Wind in New Jersey, November 2, 1999

An unseasonably humid air mass spread across the Middle Atlantic States on November 2nd. A couple of bands of showers preceding a cold front attached to a rapidly intensifying low pressure system moved through New Jersey during the late afternoon and the first half of the evening on the 2nd. These bands tapped into the very strong winds located just above the surface and mixed them to the ground. This produced hundreds of reports of wind damage in New Jersey mainly in the form of downed trees, tree limbs and wires. Hardest hit were Sussex and Warren Counties. About 130,000 homes and businesses lost power throughout the state; 75,000 in PSE&G's service area, 38,000 in GPU Energy's service area and 15,000 in Conectiv Energy's service area. The power outages interrupted polling places and forced sites to switch to either paper ballots or turn on back-up generators in Camden, Gloucester, Mercer, Monmouth, Salem and Sussex Counties. In Warren County, so many trees and limbs were knocked down that election officials told poll workers not to drive. There were four serious injuries, all from downed trees and limbs landing on vehicles. In Gloucester County, in Glassboro a downed tree injured a driver and two children. In Middlesex County, a 54-year-old motorist was injured when a large oak tree smashed through the windshield. In Cumberland County, a 19-year-old woman narrowly escaped serious injury when a large limb crashed through her windshield in Vineland. The highest recorded wind gust was 65 mph in Seaside Park (Ocean County). In Sussex County, numerous trees and limbs were knocked down. One damaged a home in Sparta, another blocked a road in Andover and several vehicles were damaged. Power lines were knocked down on County Route 515 in Hardyston. Polls in five townships were blacked out. In Warren County, downed trees blocked roadways in Washington and Broadway. In Hunterdon County, the high winds knocked down trees up to two feet in diameter in Flemington. Two trees fell on Main Street. In Somerset County, the worst wind damage occurred in the Somerset Hills area in the northern part of the county. In Mercer County, downed trees and wires blocked roadways in four municipalities. The whole eastern half of Princeton Township lost power. A fallen tree damaged a vehicle in Princeton Village. In Burlington County, downed trees damaged vehicles in Delran and Burlington City. The high winds also snapped 150 foot high netting towers at a driving range in Maple Shade. In both Camden (Cherry Hill) and Salem (Pittsgrove Township) Counties, two foot diameter trees were knocked down. The highest reported wind gusts included 65 mph in Seaside Park (Ocean County), 53 mph in Wildwood (Cape May County), 49 mph in Belmar (Monmouth County) and 45 mph in Trenton as well as the Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia International Airports.