Severe storms knock out power to thousands at the Shore

Tens of thousands of Jersey Shore residents were without power early Wednesday afternoon after potent severe storms lashed a portion of the region.

In a series of severe thunderstorm warnings issued for portions of Ocean and Monmouth counties, the National Weather Service warned of wind gusts in excess of 60 mph.

JCP&L outage data indicates that Ocean County was the most severely impacted. During a coronavirus press briefing Wednesday afternoon, Gov. Phil Murphy announced that the storms knocked out power to 66,000 utility customers. Downed wires were reported in the region.

More than 12,000 utility customers without power as of 2:35 p.m, with Berkeley, Brick and Toms River reporting the highest numbers.

The power company expects restoration for all areas by 5 p.m. The region is still recovering from prolonged power outages inflicted by Tropical Storm Isaias.