High Wind — Hunterdon, New Jersey

2002-09-11 · Hunterdon, New Jersey

Wider weather episode

The pressure difference between a strong high pressure system in the central part of the country and Tropical Storm Gustav located well east of the Delmarva Peninsula produced strong gusty northwest winds throughout the day on the 11th. Winds frequently gusted between 35 and 45 mph throughout the day and caused considerably more tree damage than usually occurs with winds of that speed. Higher wind gusts occurred along the immediate New Jersey coast. Trees, tree limbs, power lines and portable basketball hoops were knocked down. Wind blown objects killed two people and injured two others. Downed trees also damaged several vehicles and homes. The worst reported damage in the state was from Burlington and Ocean Counties northward. About 14,000 homes and businesses in those parts of the state lost power. Two people were killed by the wind. A 62-year-old masonry man was crushed by a wind toppled wall at a Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse under construction in West Windsor Township (Mercer County) at 1120 a.m. EDT. He was crushed by tons of concrete as he was standing on scaffolding at the north end of the work site working on the lower wall. The upper section of the wall blew over. The 13 foot by 30 foot long cinder block wall was built in mid-August. A 75-year-old woman was struck and killed by a large limb (eight inches in diameter) while waiting for her husband to pick her up in an antiques flea market parking lot in West Amwell Township. Another 79-year-old woman suffered bruises and scratches from the same branch. The same tree was rammed by two large trucks in 1999. The limb fell from about 100 feet. A 53-year-old man in Pequannock (Morris County) was slightly injured when a tree landed on his vehicle. In Sussex County downed trees and power lines were reported in six townships. In Warren County, downed trees and wires were reported in Phillipsburg. The arcing wires caused some small fires. In Morris County, wind damage was reported in about a dozen municipalities. In Boonton Township, three homes suffered gutter and siding damage. One vehicle was also damaged by fallen trees. In Butler Borough, one road was closed into the 12th because of downed trees. Mendham Township dismissed their school children early to give bus drivers more time to negotiate around downed trees. In Madison Township, a fallen wire started brush fires and delayed a transit train. In Hanover Township, five vehicles were damaged by fallen trees. Parsippany Township emergency personnel responded to about 15 weather related problems. In Somerset County, sections of U.S. Routes 202 and 206 were closed because of downed trees and wires. A dump truck driver narrowly escaped serious injury when a tree fell on his vehicle in Far Hills Borough. A woman also narrowly escaped injury when another tree fell on her vehicle in Bernards Township. In Bernardsville Borough, several large trees were knocked down and a gutter and a window of one home was damaged. Downtown Basking Ridge (Bernards Township) was blacked out for seven hours. Burlington County emergency personnel responded to twenty-nine weather related calls. Peak wind gusts included 60 mph in Keansburg (Monmouth County), 56 mph at Barnegat Light (Ocean County), 53 mph in Point Pleasant (Ocean County), 52 mph in Sandy Hook (Monmouth County), 46 mph in Belmar (Monmouth County) and Cape May (Cape May County), 44 mph at the Atlantic City International Airport, 43 mph in Somerville (Somerset County), 41 mph in Trenton (Mercer County) and Sussex (Sussex County), 40 mph in Wrightstown (Burlington County) and 39 mph in Millville (Cumberland County). Most of the peak gusts occurred during the early afternoon. This was the first widespread wind gusts of these speeds since May 14th. It was suspected tree damage occurred because its been four months since similar gusts happened and because the gusty winds persisted for an extended part of the day.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5321095. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.