Strong winds were gusting through New Jersey Monday, knocking out power for thousands and causing damage to structures.

Wind gusts of 82 MPH in the Lanoka Harbor section of Lacey Township, 74 MPH in Beach Haven and 73 MPH in Cape May were recorded by the National Weather Service.

The canopy of a Sunoco gas station at Tower Ave & Black Horse Pike in Egg Harbor Township collapsed.

As seen by photos and video posted to social media, the Wildwood boardwalk was damaged near Convention Hall. Wildwood police did not immediately return a message.

The Wildwood boardwalk is among those closed to visitors along the Jersey Shore, as communities try to adhere to social distancing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wires also fell across Route 18 in East Brunswick between Feris Street and Tices Lane knocking out power to most of the township although Route 18 was reopened around 2 p.m. Fallen wires always fell onto Route 206 in Princeton.

"New Jersey is stuck in the middle between strong high pressure over the Atlantic Ocean and strong low pressure over the Great Lakes," according to WPG chief meteorologist Dan Zarrow.

As of 2:45 p.m. over 51,000 utility customers were without power:

JCP&L: 18,053 customers mostly in Monmouth County (Manalapan, Marlboro), Morris County (Boonton) and Ocean County (Manchester)
PSE&G: 6,216 mostly Hudson County (Jersey City), Bergen County (Fair Lawn and Englewood) & Middlesex County (East Brunswick)
Atlantic City Electric: 27,075 mostly Atlantic County (Atlantic City, Brigantine, Galloway) and Cape May County (Ocean City and Wildwood)

JCP&L's Cliff Cole said crews are out making repairs, but said the higher the wind gusts the more problems that "we have." He could not estimate when power would be restored for those off-line.

Cole could not provide an estimate as to when power would be restored for those off-line, as crews are prohibited from going up in utility bucket trucks in winds of over 40 mph. So, crews can only access some of the problem areas once the winds have calmed down.

Cole also said that the COVID-19 pandemic would not have an impact on the ability of crews mobilizing, although he added, steps have been taken to keep employees safe.

"The crews won't be inhibited by the fact we're going through this crisis and getting the lights back on as quickly and safely as we can," Cole said.

Atlantic City Electric on its Twitter account said "crews are working to restore service safely and efficiently to customers as severe storms and strong winds continue to move through our service area."

Chris Coleman contributed to this report

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