Thunderstorms, flash floods hit Shore after as much as 4 inches of rain falls

Erik Larsen and Stephen Stirling, Asbury Park Press
·2 min read
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LAKEWOOD - Houses were flooded and vehicles were stuck on roads throughout the township as a powerful thunderstorm brought flash floods to northern Ocean County and southern Monmouth County on Friday night.

By Saturday morning, Route 9, which had been closed between James and Pine streets in Lakewood because of high water, had reopened. Also, water on Arboretum Parkway there had receded, leaving behind mud, along with a waterline that was about 2-feet high on one SUV parked on the street.

The National Weather Service on Saturday said the slow-moving storm officially left 4.1 inches of rain in Howell and 3.7 inches in Lakewood, drenching the two towns between 6 and 7 p.m. Jackson was hit with more than 2 inches.

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The Ocean County Sheriff's Office reported there were wires down and power outages as a result of the storm. Jersey Central Power & Light Co. reported that 2,646 customers (homes or businesses) in Ocean County were without electricity as of 8:25 p.m. Friday — just more than 1% of their service in Ocean.

That number had dwindled to 34 customers by noon Saturday, according to JCP&L.

A lightning strike briefly disabled the phone system at Jackson Police Headquarters, according to the Sheriff's Office.

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At 7:15 p.m., Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst measured a 49 mph wind gust in Wrightstown in Burlington County. Elsewhere, a 911 call was placed for a water rescue in Jackson, according to the reports.

The weather service warned that its wireless emergency alert system is down "due to technical issues and thus this flash flood warning will not activate your devices. We're receiving reports of houses flooded and cars stranded on roadways in Lakewood, NJ! Have multiple ways to receive warnings tonight!"

Saturday was another hot and humid day with the heat index expected to approach 100 degrees with the potential for scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon.

If you can't see any local weather warnings here, you'll need to open this story in a web browser.

Staff writer Michael L. Diamond contributed to this story.

Contact Asbury Park Press reporter Erik Larsen at elarsen@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ weather: Thunderstorms, floods, power outages hit Monmouth, Ocean