NEW YORK — Severe weather swept through parts of the Tri-State Area on Saturday, causing widespread damage in parts of New Jersey, where tornado warnings were in place.
In Monmouth County’s Howell Township, homes were dark Saturday night and trash was everywhere.
The powerful storm tore down trees and power lines as it passed through the neighborhood.
A large tree fell right in front of a family’s house, and next to it, another tree fell, hitting a car parked in the driveway and on the roof.
The owner of the house and his wife were in the house at the time. They were OK but said when they got out to check the damage, they couldn’t believe it was that bad.
The storm also took down part of their fence, and the hood of another car in the driveway is now gone.
It was still too dark to tell how much damage had been done.
The storm brought hail and lightning and left many trees in the area.
Families walked around the neighborhood with flashlights after being left without power. Some have generators, but most of them don’t, including the Ward family, who wonder what Sunday will bring.
“I just heard the wind and hail hitting the side of the house and everything. I said, man, that’s got to be hail, that can’t be rain. walked away, then came back, then walked away, then came back, then they were completely that was gone. Then when I got my flashlight and I said let me look, and I opened the front door and I saw this darn tree on the right. across the front yard,” said Jim Ward.
The Ward family huddled in the dark Saturday night and figured out how to start their generator on Sunday. They will also reach out to their insurance company to assess the damage.
