Thunderstorms Bring Flash Floods, Delays
Saturated ground from earlier heavy rain is setting the stage for possible minor flooding on Friday afternoon.
A strong line of thunderstorms is pushing across New Jersey with 50 MPH winds, frequent ground-to-cloud lightning and heavy rain falling at a rate of 1-3 inches per hour.
A Flash Flood Warning is in effect for most of north Jersey including Union, Essex, Hudson, Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Sussex and Warren counties.
Most of the rest of the state except for the shore and south Jersey are under a Flash Flood Watch.
Two more lines of storms may cross the state later Friday night and early Saturday morning according to Meteorologist Alan Kasper.
NJ Transit has suspended service on the Morris + Essex line between Hacketstown and Morristown due to overhead wire problems. Monclair-Boonton are also suspended between Denville and Hacketstown.
Over 2,400 JCP+L customers are without power in Monmouth County according to the utility's outage map with over 700 in the dark in Hunterdon County. Over 7,000 PSEG customers are without power in Middlesex, Bergen, Passaic, Hudson and Union counties.
The storms also delayed the start of the BlueClaws game at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood according a tweet from team.
Kasper says it would take only another inch of rain for flooding to develop in low lying areas and other spots prone to flooding. He says the cold front will bring lower humidity as high pressure brings sunshine for both Saturday and Sunday, with no threat of showers or thunderstorms.