Hurricane Sandy

Brick Barrier Island Residents May Gain More Access Soon

Mayor says he's just waiting for state approval

Brick hopes to allow its barrier island residents and property owners to be able to drive to their properties in their own vehicles "soon," but the township needs state approval first. "We hope it will be soon, we hope it's within days," said Mayor Stephen Acropolis, on a bus tour Thursday of many of the township's Sandy-ravaged waterfront and low-lying sections. "We're just waiting for some construction work to be cleared, for Route 35 to be opened and for approval from the state Department of Transportation." On Thursday morning, Acropolis, Police Chief Nils Bergquist, other police officers and the National Guard traveled by police-escorted bus with a limited number of media to tour the township's barrier island and other damaged areas …

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Hurricane Sandy

JCP&L to Continue Working on Outages "As Safety Permits"

Still 74,012 in the dark in Ocean and Monmouth counties

There are currently 28,176 JCP&L customers without power in Ocean County and 45,836 without power in Monmouth County, according to an update on the JCP&L website. Those numbers change constantly as crews continue to work on outages throughout the region. However, the nor'easter starting to move into the area may cause new outages as well as coastal flooding, according to the National Weather Service. JCP&L, in a prepared statement, says: "Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) has restored power to more than 900,000 of the 1.2 million JCP&L customers affected by Hurricane Sandy, marking five consecutive days where crews have restored at least 100,000 customers per day. While restoration continues, JCP&L is preparing for a Nor'easter that is …

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Hurricane Sandy

UPDATE: Nearly 247,000 Without Power in Ocean and Monmouth

Outages to increase as Sandy barrels towards the Shore

Update, 6 p.m.: Outages have reached 126,739 in Ocean County and 120,000 in Monmouth County. --- There are nearly 24,000 reported power outages in Monmouth and Ocean counties as of early Monday afternoon, according to a Jersey Central Power & Light map. As of early Monday afternoon, there were 23,559 outages reported in Monmouth and Ocean. However, there was no way to immediately learn if some without power have not reported it yet because they may have no means of communication without electricity. But according to the information available, the highest number of outages in one town in the two counties was Middletown, with 6,869. Another town with a high number of reported outages was Berkeley in southern Ocean County with 1,848. …

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Hurricane Sandy

The Surf Before the Storm

Surfers and fishermen head toward shore

Surfers and fishermen outnumbered beach walkers on many beaches Saturday evening as Hurricane Sandy approached offshore. These surfers and fishermen were at the beach in Bay Head, which is under mandatory state orders to evacuate by 4 p.m. Sunday.

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Hurricane Sandy

HURRICANE SANDY: JCP&L Says it Learned From Its Mistakes

Stresses storm may knock out power for 7-10 days

  Jersey Central Power and Light (JCP&L) President Don Lynch says the company has learned from the mistakes it made from Hurricane Irene and is ready for Hurricane Sandy and the threat it poses to the state. The company took heat when Hurricane Irene left many New Jersey towns without power for days - and, in some cases, weeks. Many thought JCP&L's response was too slow. The biggest lesson learned is getting the information out to customers and municipalities as specifically, quickly and often as possible, Lynch said. The company wants its customers to know as much information as possible, he said. "Just know that Jersey Central will be working hard day and night - we've already started, should that storm hit shore here and cause outages …

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Thanks to El Nino, Tropics Tamer in 2012

Less chance of a hurricane impacting the Shore this year

While the number of named tropical weather systems this year is, thus far, about equal to 2011, most of the storms that formed fizzled out or were swept to sea before having had a chance to impact land. One potential reason: a weather pattern known as El Nino. El Nino, Spanish for "the little boy" because it often is identified near Christmas, is a warm phase characterized by high pressure over the Pacific Ocean. It occurs about every five years, and has been identified as happening this year. The phenomenon is powerful enough to affect global weather patterns. Last year, El Nino's opposite pattern – La Nina – was in effect, which brought low pressure to the Pacific. "Upper level winds over the tropics are strong," said meteorologist Steve…

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Hurricane Irene

NJ Officials Hurricane-Ready in Face of Increase in Predictions

Emergency management workers encourage residents to be prepared

The Atlantic Hurricane basin is highly active this weekend, and perhaps no one is more worried than the employees of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management. Late Friday, Tropical Storm Harvey was upgraded from a Tropical Depression by the National Hurricane Center. While Harvey is forecast to remain in South America, there is plenty of other tropical action waiting in the wings. At least two tropical waves in the Atlantic have more than a 40 percent chance of tropical development, according to the National Hurricane center this weekend. Back at home, we've seen plenty of record setting heat waves this summer. So with over two months left in the Atlantic Hurricane Season, it's no wonder that some are nervous about what the remainder …

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Above Average Hurricane Season Expected

How many hurricanes will form this year? Forecasters expect a busy season

Hurricane season officially kicks off today, June 1, and forecasters say the East Coast could see an above average number of tropical systems this year. In its annual Hurricane Season Outlook, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has predicted up to 18 named storms. Of those, up to 10 could become hurricanes, with winds of 74 miles per hour or more and up to six are expected to be major hurricanes, either a Category 3, 4 or 5 with winds of 111 miles per hour or more.  The average is 11 named storms with six hurricanes and two major hurricanes. The Atlantic hurricane season lasts through Nov. 30, with peak activity occurring in early September. “The United States was fortunate last year. Winds steered most of the …

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