Flash Sale! Unlimited Digital Access - $5 for the first month

N.J. weather: State slammed by fierce winds that topped 65 mph. See list of peak gusts.

By

A rain storm and a series of weather fronts that stirred up the atmosphere on Wednesday caused winds to gust close to 70 mph in one area of New Jersey, with several other areas getting blasted by 50 mph gusts.

The strongest wind gust reported across the state was 69 mph, clocked in Woodbine in Cape May County at 8:30 p.m.

Among the other towns and cities that saw winds blowing as strong as 50 mph or higher were Fortescue, Trenton, Upper Pittsgrove and Vineland.

The intense winds toppled some trees, large tree limbs and power lines, knocking out electricity to more than 12,000 homes and businesses by about 6 p.m.

The statewide power outage total dropped to 4,600 customers by 7:30 p.m. in areas served by PSE&G and Atlantic City Electric, according to data from the utility companies. But JCP&L was reporting 3,000 to 4,000 outages in its service areas Wednesday night.

The highest concentrations of outages were reported in Hopewell Township and Lawrence Township in Mercer County, with large numbers also reported in Bridgewater in Somerset County, Edison in Middlesex County, West Orange and Maplewood in Essex County, Elizabeth in Union County, Passaic in Passaic County, and Cherry Hill in Camden County.

Waves of showers dumped more than an inch of much-needed rain across most of the drought-stricken state, and as much as 2 inches of rain in parts of Ocean and Atlantic counties.

Here’s a look at the highest peak wind gusts reported in most counties in New Jersey as of 8 p.m. Wednesday, with data provided by the National Weather Service and the Rutgers NJ Weather Network:

Atlantic County

  • Atlantic City: 46 mph at 2:44 p.m.
  • Atlantic City: 43 mph at 3:45 p.m.
  • Forsythe: 42 mph at 3:31 p.m.

Bergen County

  • Teterboro Airport: 40 mph at 4:19 p.m.

Burlington County

  • Mount Holly: 48 mph at 2:03 p.m.
  • McGuire AFB: 47 mph at 1:53 p.m.
  • Lumberton: 46 mph at 2:05 p.m.
  • Tabernacle: 44 mph at 1:15 p.m.
  • Coyle Field: 43 mph at 2:10 p.m.
  • Moorestown: 42 mph at 10:40 a.m.
  • Silas Little: 40 mph at 1:45 p.m.
  • Oswego Lake: 40 mph at 2 p.m.
  • Shamong: 40 mph at 3:08 p.m.

Camden County

  • Blue Anchor: 40 mph at 2:10 p.m.

Cape May County

  • Woodbine: 69 mph at 8:30 p.m.
  • Wildwood: 41 mph at 12:29 p.m.
  • Dennis Twp.: 41 mph at 3:05 p.m.
  • Cape May: 40 mph at 2:43 p.m.

    • Cumberland County

    • Fortescue: 52 mph at 5:05 p.m.
    • Vineland: 51 mph at 5:10 p.m.
    • Upper Deerfield: 46 mph at 3:45 p.m.
    • Millville: 44 mph at 3:35 p.m.

    Essex County

    • Newark Liberty Airport: 46 mph at 1:45 p.m.
    • Caldwell Airport: 41 mph at 1:14 p.m.

    Gloucester County

    • South Harrison: 45 mph at 1:20 p.m.
    • Kingsway Regional HS: 45 mph at 3:30 p.m.
    • West Deptford: 41 mph at 3:10 p.m.

    Hunterdon County

    • Readington: 43 mph at 12:49 p.m.

    Mercer County

    • Trenton: 58 mph at 12:19 p.m.
    • Hopewell Twp.: 41 mph at 2 p.m.

    Middlesex County

    • Perth Amboy: 49 mph at 2:08 p.m.

    Monmouth County

    • Cream Ridge: 49 mph at 2:25 p.m.
    • N. Middletown: 41 mph at 3:37 p.m.

    Morris County

    • Succasunna: 40 mph at 2:45 p.m.

    Ocean County

    • Berkeley Twp.: 48 mph at 2:20 p.m.
    • Lakehurst NAS: 48 mph at 2:21 p.m.
    • Toms River: 46 mph at 2:19 p.m.

    Salem County

    • Upper Pittsgrove Twp.: 51 mph at 12:47 p.m.

    Somerset County

    • Somerville: 44 mph at 12:20 p.m.

    Sussex County

    • High Point Monument: 43 mph at 2:15 p.m.

    Union County

    • Newark Liberty Airport: 46 mph at 1:45 p.m.

    Current weather radar

    Stories by Len Melisurgo

    Thank you for relying on us to provide the local weather news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription.

    Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com or on X at @LensReality.

    If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

    X

    Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information

    If you opt out, we won’t sell or share your personal information to inform the ads you see. You may still see interest-based ads if your information is sold or shared by other companies or was sold or shared previously.