NEWARK, New Jersey — Friday evening started like any other — until the lights went out.
Strong gusty winds from a wave of scattered thunderstorms swept across New Jersey, leaving tens of thousands of residents suddenly without power in the middle of the night.
It happened fast. By 5:20 p.m., more than 8,000 customers had already lost electricity. Less than an hour later, that number more than doubled to 19,300. Then, as another cluster of storms rolled through northern and central New Jersey, the total shot up to 42,400 outages by 6:30 p.m.
The storms hit hard and moved fast
The culprit was a powerful combination of thunderstorms and a very humid air mass pushing in from eastern Pennsylvania.
Wind gusts were estimated at up to 60 mph in some areas — strong enough to bring down trees and power lines across multiple counties.
Residents in northern and central New Jersey bore the brunt of the damage as the storms tracked eastward through the region.
More severe weather still on the way
The trouble is not over yet.
Forecasters from the National Weather Service warned that stormy conditions are expected to continue through Friday night.
On top of that, another round of showers and thunderstorms could develop Saturday evening or into the overnight hours — meaning more potential outages for communities that are already dealing with damage.
What residents should know right now
If your power is still out, stay away from downed power lines and report outages directly to your utility provider.
Keep phones charged if possible, check on elderly neighbors, and avoid using candles near flammable materials.
Storms like these move quickly — but the cleanup takes far longer.
Have you lost power or seen storm damage in your neighborhood? Tell us what it looks like on the ground in the comments below.