Hurricane Sandy

JCP&L to Continue Working on Outages "As Safety Permits"

Still 74,012 in the dark in Ocean and Monmouth counties

There are currently 28,176 JCP&L customers without power in Ocean County and 45,836 without power in Monmouth County, according to an update on the JCP&L website. Those numbers change constantly as crews continue to work on outages throughout the region. However, the nor'easter starting to move into the area may cause new outages as well as coastal flooding, according to the National Weather Service. JCP&L, in a prepared statement, says: "Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) has restored power to more than 900,000 of the 1.2 million JCP&L customers affected by Hurricane Sandy, marking five consecutive days where crews have restored at least 100,000 customers per day. While restoration continues, JCP&L is preparing for a Nor'easter that is …

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Hurricane Sandy

UPDATE: Nearly 247,000 Without Power in Ocean and Monmouth

Outages to increase as Sandy barrels towards the Shore

Update, 6 p.m.: Outages have reached 126,739 in Ocean County and 120,000 in Monmouth County. --- There are nearly 24,000 reported power outages in Monmouth and Ocean counties as of early Monday afternoon, according to a Jersey Central Power & Light map. As of early Monday afternoon, there were 23,559 outages reported in Monmouth and Ocean. However, there was no way to immediately learn if some without power have not reported it yet because they may have no means of communication without electricity. But according to the information available, the highest number of outages in one town in the two counties was Middletown, with 6,869. Another town with a high number of reported outages was Berkeley in southern Ocean County with 1,848. …

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Hurricane Sandy

The Surf Before the Storm

Surfers and fishermen head toward shore

Surfers and fishermen outnumbered beach walkers on many beaches Saturday evening as Hurricane Sandy approached offshore. These surfers and fishermen were at the beach in Bay Head, which is under mandatory state orders to evacuate by 4 p.m. Sunday.

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Hurricane Sandy

HURRICANE SANDY: JCP&L Says it Learned From Its Mistakes

Stresses storm may knock out power for 7-10 days

  Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) President Don Lynch says the company has learned from the mistakes it made from Hurricane Irene and is ready for Hurricane Sandy and the threat it poses to the state. The company took heat when Hurricane Irene left many New Jersey towns without power for days - and, in some cases, weeks. Many thought JCP&L's response was too slow. The biggest lesson learned is getting the information out to customers and municipalities as specifically, quickly and often as possible, Lynch said. The company wants its customers to know as much information as possible, he said. "Just know that Jersey Central will be working hard day and night - we've already started, should that storm hit shore here and cause outages …

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Tropical Storm Sandy Could Evolve Into A Hurricane By Wednesday

A potentially powerful autumn store might be heading up the coast.

The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management (OEM) and the National Weather Service are closely monitoring Tropical Storm Sandy to see what impact it might have on the area as it moves up the coast.  "There is a potential for a very powerful and dangerous autumn store to affect our region early next week," the OEM reports on its Facebook page.  "There is a growing threat of strong winds, very heavy rainfall, coastal flooding and inland flooding to affect our region early next week." The National Weather Service says the impact the storm has on the area depends on how the storm tracks over the next five days or so. While it is currently listed as a Tropical Storm as of Tuesday the National Weather Service expects it to be upgraded to a …

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Long Branch Beach Staff To Be On Hand This Weekend For Hurricane Leslie Conditions

Good surf conditions expected this weekend

  Some Long Branch beach staff and lifeguards will be on hand this weekend as the city beaches are expected to see good surf conditions as a result of Hurricane Leslie. The hurricane is not expected to make landfall like Hurricane Irene did last August, but it could create large waves in Long Branch. Long Branch Recreation Supervisor Shannon Bruno said lifeguards should be patrolling the beach this weekend because the good surf conditions should attract surfers and other oceangoers. "We could have anywhere from five to 20 out there this weekend depending on the conditions," Bruno said on Thursday. Bruno said the city usually keeps guards and patrols at beaches for "a few" weekends after the beach season ends on Labor Day each year. "We try…

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Hurricane Irene

County on Irene: 3 Roads Still Closed

Repairs on 5 bridges will add to the disruptions.

The following is an updated a press release provided Monmouth County on current road conditions ... Flooding and power outages that were the result of Hurricane Irene continued to plague residents today, particularly with travel along local roads. The severe flooding from 9 to 12 inches of rainfall over this past weekend caused two earthen dams to fail, and forced county officials to close five bridges that will be in need of major repair. Because those bridges and dams impacted the roads, detours will be necessary until those repairs can be made.   “Even though these closures will cause an inconvenience, residents should be pleased to learn that the county’s Department of Public Works and Engineering was well-prepared for the storm and …

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No Goodnight for Hurricane Irene

Season's first hurricane could mean five days of uncertainty for Garden State residents.

"It looks like it will affect us one way or another." That is how the National Weather Service in Mount Holly is describing the potential impacts of Hurricane Irene on the Jersey Shore. Meteorologists are advising coastal residents to plan ahead for a nasty weekend. As of 11 a.m. Tuesday, Irene was situated about 50 miles north-northwest of Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic (or 70 miles south of the Grand Turk Island). The Category 2 hurricane's maximum recorded wind speed by a Hurricane Hunter plane was 100 mph. The National Hurricane Center is currently predicting that the storm will make an initial landfall off the southern North Carolina coast by late Saturday night, but New Jersey is not out of the woods. In the updated forecast …

Expecting: More Hurricanes on Horizon

June 1 marked the beginning of the season

The east coast could see an above average number of tropical hurricanes this year, the National Oceanic and Atomspheric Administration announced recently. In its annual Hurricane Season Outlook, NOAA has predicted up to 18 named storms. Of those, up to 10 could become hurricanes, with winds of 74 miles per hour or more; and, up to six are expected to be major hurricanes, either a Category 3, 4 or 5 with winds of 111 miles per hour or more.  The average is 11 named storms with six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. The Atlantic Ocean hurricane season begins June 1 and lasts for six months. “The United States was fortunate last year. Winds steered most of the season’s tropical storms and all hurricanes away from our coastlines,” said Jane …

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