More than 30,000 NJ customers without power as fierce winds batter state

💧More than 30,000 utility customers remained without power Saturday morning

💧High tide covered roads near the Jersey Shore as winds reached 69 mph

💧Crews faced dangerous conditions while NJ Transit suspended part of the RiverLine

More than 30,000 New Jersey utility customers remained without power Saturday morning after gusty winds knocked down trees and power lines across the state.

The morning high tide covered roads close to the beach at the Jersey Shore, with numerous roads closed. The top recorded wind gust was 69 mph on Long Beach Island, according to Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow.

A wind gust of 74 mph was recorded in Surf City Friday night. About 1.5 inches of rain was also reported.

"Just a nasty, inclement weekend all around. Especially at the shore," Zarrow said.

Thousands remain without power across New Jersey

The gusty winds knocked down trees and power lines, leaving more than 24,000 JCP&L, PSE&G and Atlantic City Electric customers without power as of 1:15 p.m., according to the utilities' respective outage maps.

• JCP&L: 16,417 customers without power, mostly in Hunterdon, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Sussex and Warren counties
• Atlantic City Electric: 5,564 customers without power, mostly in Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland counties
• PSE&G: 2,653 customers without power, mostly in Burlington, Essex, Gloucester and Somerset counties

JCP&L crews have already made progress with restoration. There were around 72,000 customers without power during the overnight hours, according to spokesman Chris Hoenig.

Bucket crews have been grounded because OSHA regulations prohibit workers from going up when wind speeds exceed 40 mph.

"We do have our total storm workforce right now is about 3,200 personnel. That includes nearly 1,600 line workers and more than 580 foresters," Hoenig said. "The rest of that workforce is made up of substation crews, damage assessors, damage assessors, hazard responders and support personnel."

Laydown yards are also set up in north and central New Jersey to allow crews to efficiently pick up materials needed in damaged locations.

Flooding takes over Shore streets

As of Saturday around 11 a.m., Route 72 eastbound was closed at the Boatyard, meaning no access to Long Beach Island using the highway, Stafford Police shared to social media.

Manasquan Mayor Mike Mangan shared an update and said with two more high tides to go, locals and visitors should stay off the roads.

Longtime Shore businesses, especially along Long Beach Island and Wildwood, were dealing with significant flooding by early Saturday afternoon.

In Beach Haven, the owners of Jingles Bait and Tackle said in the 10 years they've owned the longtime store, this was the first time they were dealing with water inside the shop.

In North Wildwood, the Star Lite Diner shared video of the fully flooded street and said they would reopen for Sunday.

Edison Elks after a fire Sat., Sept. 26, 2026

High winds cause problems beyond power outages

NJ Transit's RiverLine light rail was suspended Saturday morning between Florence and Cass Street due to unspecified "weather-related issues," with alternative bus transportation being provided. No other problems were reported on NJ Transit rail or bus service.

Edison Police Chief Thomas Bryan told New Jersey 101.5 that Edison Elks Lodge 2487 was destroyed by fire overnight. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Zarrow said winds gusted to 35 mph at the time.

Delays and flight cancellations at Newark and Philadelphia were minimal as of 10:45 a.m., according to FlightAware.com.

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