Power Outages Linger In Sussex County As Tropical Storm Moves In

SUSSEX COUNTY, NJ — About 2,000 Jersey Central Power and Light customers in Sussex County remain without power from Tuesday’s severe weather, the majority of the electric restorations expected by Friday night.

On Thursday, the highest outage numbers remaining were 425 in Byram, 378 in Stillwater, 117 in Walpack, 108 in Newton and 100 in Andover Township - with 5,200 in New Jersey overall - as Tropical Storm Elsa made her way up New Jersey’s coast.

This contrasted with Wednesday, when there were over 7,600 in Sussex County still without power and more than 25,000 statewide.

Though on Thursday Sparta had under 100 outages remaining, they were still busy in the township with clearing up roads from fallen trees from Tuesday’s storm, with updates posted on the Sparta Police Department’s social media.

Sparta Police also posted information about Tropical Storm Elsa's arrival.

Additionally, the department posted a reminder for residents that came from JCP&L, that an electrician may need to work on and do inspections at a home, before electric is fully restored.

A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for coastal areas of New Jersey in advance of Elsa’s arrival.

The National Weather Service forecast for Thursday into Friday for Sussex County’s Sparta and Hopatcong areas, as well as northern sections of the county like Vernon, predicts Elsa to deliver heavy rainfall both overnight on Thursday, with more showers and thunderstorms possible before 11 a.m. on Friday. In some areas of Sussex County, a severe thunderstorm watch is in effect.

There’s a flash flood watch through noon Friday, where Tropical Storm Elsa could deliver heavy rainfall from thunderstorms Thursday night into Friday, leaving behind up to three inches of rain after Thursday’s and Friday’s downpours.

Before the sunny skies are expected to come back on Saturday, Elsa could deliver more showers and thunderstorms through Friday night and overnight into Saturday.

Residents who have JCP&L and experience a power loss during the storms should call 888-LIGHTSS (888-544-4877).

Click here to pinpoint exact areas on JCP&L’s outage map.

See further information below from New Jersey’s Office of Emergency Management about the upcoming storm:

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Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at jennifer.miller@patch.com.