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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Thanks to El Nino, Tropics Tamer in 2012

Less chance of a hurricane impacting the Shore this year

While the number of named tropical weather systems this year is, thus far, about equal to 2011, most of the storms that formed fizzled out or were swept to sea before having had a chance to impact land. One potential reason: a weather pattern known as El Nino. El Nino, Spanish for "the little boy" because it often is identified near Christmas, is a warm phase characterized by high pressure over the Pacific Ocean. It occurs about every five years, and has been identified as happening this year. The phenomenon is powerful enough to affect global weather patterns. Last year, El Nino's opposite pattern – La Nina – was in effect, which brought low pressure to the Pacific. "Upper level winds over the tropics are strong," said meteorologist Steve…

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Hurricane Irene

Live Updates: Toms River HS East Shelter Open. Power Outages, Flooding, Roads Reports

Update: Toms River High School East open as evacuation shelter. Power outages ongoing. Barrier island roads closed.

The Ocean County Office of Emergency Management urges residents to stay at home and remain sheltered until damage assessments can be completed. (9 a.m. Sunday) Power outages began across Toms River around 11 p.m. Saturday and continue into this morning, according to JCP&L and Toms River Police Chief Michael Mastronardy. JCP&L at 7:30 a.m. Sunday is reporting 14,000 customers in Toms River are without power. Shelters at Toms River High School North and Intermediate North are now full, said Toms River Office of Emergency Management. Evacuees should now report to Toms River High School East, which is a pet-friendly facility but with no cages. Evacuees are encouraged to bring their own blankets and pillows. (Update 5:45 p.m.) Toms River High …

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