Thunderstorm in the US Snapped the Heat Wave

Thunderstorms swept over the Monmouth, northern Ocean, and Lancaster counties of the USA at Wednesday afternoon. The storms came as a relief to the inhabitants, who have been suffering from heat wave for a few days, of these counties. However, the storms also set houses on fire, caused power outages, and downed trees.

Earl Way, a 92-year-old resident of Sandy Hook Bay, called it as a circus. He described it just unbelievable as how fast the storm came, blew everything apart with water level rising 3-4 feet high. Jersey Central Power and Light, the company that supplies power in the areas of Howell, Colts Neck, Middletown, Marlboro, Freehold, and Ocean townships, recorded approximately 18,000 cases of power failure.

The county dispatchers of Monmouth reported the incidents of a number of lightning strikes and downed trees that blocked the roadways, especially in Fair Haven and Tinton Falls. A house on Washington Street in Keyport was also struck by lightning that, without damaging anything outside of the house, knocked down wallboard on a bathroom in the second floor. Fortunately, no one staying on the house was hurt due to this incident.

Police Sgt. Timothy Kelly got a report about a house on the Florence Avenue got struck by lightning. However, this incident also did not cause any major damage. According to the report issued by the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, several incidents of thunderstorm watch were recorded for 16 counties in New Jersey on Wednesday. The wind gust in Lancaster recorded to have a speed of 61-mph. Like the other storm-affected areas, cases of power cuts and downed trees were recorded there too.

The thunderstorms broke the heat wave that was prevailing in those areas. On Wednesday, the temperature in some parts of those areas soared to around 100 degrees, making it the third successive day when temperature rose over 90 degrees. The temperature in the Atlantic City area was 101 degree for two days, surpassing its previous highest 99 degrees in 2006. In Lancaster, the temperature was 100 degrees on Wednesday, equaling the highest one set in 1977.

Thunderstorms have decreased the temperature of those areas significantly, which was welcomed by the inhabitants. The temperature was reduced to almost 20 degrees and would be reduced more in coming days. An AccuWeather meteorologist Carl Erickson said that the weekend would be pretty quiet with partly cloudy sky and no rain.

Due to the heat wave, people of those areas, especially the kids and the elderly, suffered from various heat related illnesses. The spokesman for Meridian Health Robert Cavanaugh and the medical director of the emergency sector at Ocean Medical Center Dr. Bradley Pulver said about the rise in the emergency room visits during the heat wave.

However, the weather now cooled down and expected to be cooler by the weekend.

Category: News