Tropical Storm and Strong Wind in New Jersey, September 18 to 19, 2003

As Hurricane Isabel moved northwest toward the southern Mid Atlantic States, a strong high pressure system built over Northern New England. As the pressure gradient increased, strong northeast winds developed across the region Thursday, September 18th. Hurricane Isabel made landfall near Drum Inlet, North Carolina at 1 pm on the eighteenth. As Isabel accelerated toward the north northwest, tropical storm force winds rapidly expanded north. Tropical storm force winds of 39 miles per hour (mph) occurred across parts of Union, Essex, and Hudson Counties from Thursday evening through Thursday night. Elsewhere, east winds were sustained between 25 and 35 mph with peak gusts between 35 and 45 mph. When strong winds were accompanied by bands of heavy showers, many trees, tree limbs, and power lines were downed across the region. The greatest damage occurred across Union, Essex, and Hudson Counties. In Union County, high winds downed many trees and wires, which resulted in the closure of major streets and schools. In Hudson County, several trees fell onto and damaged cars.These strong winds resulted in 3 injuries in Bergen County:In Englewood, police reported that a 31 year old woman was injured when winds toppled a tree onto her car on Tenafly Road.In East Rutherford, police reported that a 12th floor window blew out at the Metromedia building across from Giants Stadium. The glass struck and injured 2 women. Here are selected wind velocity measurements across the region:In Essex County, the Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS) at Newark Airport measured a sustained 2 minute wind velocity of 32 mph from 100 degrees at 1:19 am EDT on the 19th with a peak gust to 44 mph from 120 degrees at 2:43 am EDT on the 19th.In Hudson County, a spotter in Harrison measured a peak wind gust to 43 mph at 3:20 am on the nineteenth.In Bergen County, the ASOS at Teterboro Airport measured a peak wind gust to 40 mph.