Storm Yanks Down Power Lines In Bloomfield: See Latest Weather Updates

BLOOMFIELD, NJ — Recovery efforts continue in Bloomfield after a severe weekend storm, which knocked out power across town.

Bloomfield wasn’t the only New Jersey town to be walloped by heavy winds and rain last weekend. More than 120,000 people across the state were without electricity on Sunday, according to Jersey Central Power & Light, PSE&G and Atlantic City Electric.

Mayor Jenny Mundell said the weekend storms knocked down trees and power lines across town.

Bloomfield police, firefighters and public works crews have been responding to calls for aid, the mayor reported. Residents should call 911 for emergencies and 973-680-4141 to report non-emergent issues.

Meanwhile, a local weather alert was rolled out Sunday and will continue throughout Monday, with heavy downpours expected – with possible flooding (see forecast below). Residents are encouraged to avoid unnecessary travel during periods of heavy rain and never drive through flooded roadways, township officials advised.

POWER COMPANY UPDATE

PSE&G released an update about the outages on Sunday evening, reporting that crews have restored power to more than 275,000 customers after the weekend storms. About 22,000 customers remained without electricity in New Jersey.

The storm impacted more than 250 transformers and damaged about 240 utility poles.

Restoration efforts may take some time, PSE&G said:

“Restoring service after a severe storm often requires rebuilding sections of the electric system before power can be restored to towns and neighborhoods. Damaged circuits that feed your town may not always be visible from your home or even your neighborhood. Repairs are frequently needed on damaged transmission and distribution lines, substations and circuits upstream from you in order to restore the power flow to you and your neighborhood. PSE&G continues to deploy additional resources, including vegetation management crews clearing fallen trees and branches from power lines so lineworkers can safely access damaged equipment and begin repairs.”

“The standard restoration process is designed to return service to the greatest number of customers as quickly as possible,” PSE&G said. “During this week however, we are focused on restoring those customers who were impacted by the heat wave last week and the July 3 storm before turning to those impacted by the July 4 storm.”

“We first restore power to critical facilities and repair major transmission and distribution lines before addressing more localized outages and individual service connections,” the company said. “Customers can learn more about how power restoration works, and why some outages take longer than others and why reporting an outage matters, on Energize!.”

Customers can report outages and receive restoration updates by:

• Texting OUT to 4PSEG (47734)
• Using the PSE&G mobile app
• Visiting pseg.com/myaccount
• Calling 1-800-436-PSEG (7734)

LOCAL WEATHER FORECAST

More ugly weather may be on the way for Bloomfield on Monday and Tuesday, forecasters say – including potential flooding.

According to the National Weather Service, there is a Hazardous Weather Outlook in effect for the region, with a Flood Watch extending into Tuesday morning.

Here’s the weather forecast in Bloomfield for the rest of the week, as per the NWS:

Monday: Periods of showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Some of the storms could produce heavy rainfall. High near 72. East wind 8 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New rainfall amounts between three quarters and one inch possible.

Monday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm. Low around 64. Northeast wind around 10 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Tuesday: A chance of showers before 2pm, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between 2pm and 5pm, then a slight chance of thunderstorms after 5pm. Cloudy, with a high near 73. Northeast wind around 9 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tuesday Night: A slight chance of showers between 8pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 64. Northeast wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 83. North wind around 6 mph.

Wednesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 67.

Thursday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 86.

Thursday Night: A chance of showers and thunderstorms between 8pm and 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 72. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Friday: A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 87.

Friday Night: A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 71.

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