No Lights!

Essex County officials today declared a state of emergency in the wake of Tuesday night's violent thunderstorms that left thousands without power.

More than 40,000 homes in Essex County remained without electricity this morning, many of them in Nutley, said Essex County Executive Joseph DiVincenzo. Authorities hoped to have most homes and businesses back online between 7 and 10 p.m., DiVincenzo said. At the peak of the power outage, about 90,000 homes in Essex County were left without electricity.

Roadways today remain littered with downed trees and wires. More than 50 state and local police officers were dispatched to intersections to direct traffic today, said Fred Scalera, deputy director of the Essex County Office of Emergency Management.

"tree down in my neighborhood"

my, oh my! what the heck is going
on with this weather, never in my
wildest dreams did i ever think a
tornado could hit NJ, i have never
seen what i witnessed last night

the pounding of hail the size of
golf balls, hitting my deck, the sound
was deafening, teared right thru me

wind, blowing, in every direction
my dad at 83, frightened, "its ok"
i told him, "it will pass"

without warning, my lights flickered,
my computer shut down, my tv went black
our house grew quite, a eeire quite, so
strange

i have no idea how one survives with
no power, i was going out of my mind
sleep did not come, as the sweat got
in the way, what a long night

all is safe, and of course that is what
matters the most, however i wonder
so, what has happen to our atmosphere

i really think last nite, i witnessed
"global warming" yes i think i did!