1,300 Still Without Power, No Word on Possible Tornado

About 1,300 customers in Brick were still without electricity Saturday afternoon, nearly 18 hours after powerful thunderstorms rolled through the area, according to Jersey Central Power and Light.

The thunderstorm began around 7 p.m. Friday night, flooding roads, stranding motorists and downing trees and power lines. Traffic lights, which were either not operating or blinking amber for most of Friday night, were back on Saturday morning, but some residents and businesses did not yet have their electricity restored.

The Brick Township branch of the Ocean County Library, still without power at 11 a.m. Saturday, closed for the day.

A resident of the township's Lake Riviera section told Brick Patch on Saturday morning that her plants were uprooted and tree limbs and debris had filled her in-ground pool. Other residents suffered damage to the exteriors of their homes. There were two confirmed working fires during the storm – on Eisenhower Drive and Forge Pond Road – but both were quickly extinguished, police said.

Ocean Medical Center lost its power during the storm and relied on emergency generators, though the hospital's air conditioning system failed. Portable air conditioners were brought in to help cool several floors, and temperatures were being monitored until the system could be restored, hospital officials said.

Brick Police Capt. John Rein said the department fielded 70 calls and 40 fire calls during a three hour period Friday night. Flooding affected numerous roadways in town, including Chambers Bridge Road, where several cars became stranded after motorists tried to make it through a flooded intersection just east of Brick Township High School.

Rein said the Forge Pond area of town was hit especially hard by the storm.

Rumors also began swirling Saturday that a possible tornado had formed near Drum Point Road during the storm. As of early Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly had not sent a representative to Brick to survey damage, said Valerie Meola, a meteorologist there. Meola said the agency could still send someone to the local area later in the day, however.