UPDATE: As of 2:30 p.m, more than 18,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey remain without power, most in Monmouth County. Restoration times vary by area.
More than 34,000 homes and businesses in New Jersey remain without power on Friday morning after strong thunderstorms and damaging winds lashed the state Thursday evening.
No tornadoes hit the state, according to the two National Weather Service offices that cover New Jersey.
“We’re not aware of any locations where there’s any indication of a tornado,” said the weather service’s Mount Holly office, which covers all but the state’s five northeastern counties. “It appears to be all straight-line winds” from thunderstorms.
The New York office of the weather service, which covers Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union, also said there were no tornadoes in our region Thursday.
As of 6:30 a.m. Friday, outage totals were 30,843 for Jersey Central Power & Light; 3,163 for PSE&G and 106 for Atlantic City Electric.
Pleasant conditions are expected Friday in New Jersey before heat returns this weekend.National Weather Service
NJ Transit train service on the North Jersey Coast Line is still suspended in both directions due to downed trees on the wires and tracks.
In addition, shuttle service between Princeton and Princeton Junction is suspended due to overhead wire issues.
Also, Marlboro High School in Monmouth County is closed on Friday because of storm damage on Route 79, the school said on its website.
The Hazlet school district will have a delayed opening on Friday.
All traffic lights on Route 35 in Hazlet were out as of 6:20 a.m., township police said.
Conditions are expected to be good for crews working to restore power.
Very hot conditions are expected in New Jersey early next week with highs reaching 100 in parts of the state on Monday and Tuesday.National Weather Service
Forecasters are calling for a dry, sunny day with much more comfortable temperatures than Thursday. Highs will be in the 80s with far lower humidity.
Overnight lows will be in the 60s to about 70.
Saturday will be very warm with highs in the low 80s along the Jersey Shore to around 90 degrees elsewhere.
It will get even hotter on Sunday — near 90 degrees along the Jersey Shore and the mid-90s to upper 90s in the rest of the state. The Newark area could make a run for 100 degrees on Sunday.
The uncomfortable conditions will continue into early next week. An excessive heat watch has already been issued from Monday morning to Wednesday evening for Sussex, Warren, Morris, Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex, Mercer. Gloucester, Camden and northwestern Burlington counties.
The heat index could climb as high as 107 degrees as temperatures soar into the upper 90s to 100.
Stories by Jeff Goldman
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Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.