Gas station collapses, outages spread as 40 mph winds hit North Jersey

Kristie Cattafi, NorthJersey.com

Sat, February 7, 2026 at 9:52 PM UTC

2 min read

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Wind gusts of more than 40 mph wreaked havoc across North Jersey Saturday afternoon, with reports of downed trees, power outages and damaged buildings around the region.

In Pompton Lakes, strong gusts knocked over the canopy of a gas station and damaged a bank, the fire department said. A toppled tree shut down part of Route 10 in Morris County and almost 300 flights were delayed or canceled at Newark Liberty International Airport as of 4 p.m.

"The wind has been very strong and very gusty. The Delta gas station in Pompton Lakes and the Columbia bank in Pompton lakes both experienced damage due to the wind," the Pompton Lakes Volunteer Fire Department warned on Facebook, where it posted a picture of the gas station canopy tipped over on its side..

"Please be careful when walking and driving. And maintain a blanket, some dry snacks and a flashlight in your vehicle. Wind chills are going below zero and skin will freeze very quickly."

Randolph Township, meanwhile, posted that Route 10 westbound was closed at Center Grove Road due to a tree that fell on the roadway. "Please avoid the area and use alternate routes," the township requested.

How strong are the winds in NJ?

The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for New Jersey though midnight on Saturday. The Rutgers NJ Weather Network recorded a maximum gust of 44 mph in Chester, in southern Morris County, and 62 mph in Little Egg Harbor, according to its website.An extreme cold warning is also in effect through Sunday morning, with wind chills that could feel like 25 below zero at times, the Weather Service said.

Gusts are expected to taper on Sunday, but the NWS forecast still calls for lingering strong winds that could make the temperature feel like 5 to 15 below.

More: NJ facing 'dangerously cold' snap, high winds. When will it warm up?

Power outages

As the afternoon winds picked up, so did reports of localized power outages.

As of 4:30 p.m., Jersey Central Power & Light reported almost 3,300 customers were without power and called in extra crews to help.

"We're monitoring the strong winds and bitterly cold temperatures forecast across our service area on Feb. 7. More than 900 additional line workers are on standby to respond to any outages," the utility said on its website. "We know how impactful being without power can be in this cold, and we’ll work as fast as safely possible to restore service if an outage occurs."

JCP&L said problems can be reported by texting OUT to 544487, going online to firstenergycorp.com/outages or calling (888) 544-4877.

Fellow New Jersey utility PSE&G had 107 outages affecting 3,400 customers around the same time. To report a gas leak, downed wires, or other hazardous condition to PSE&G, call the company's emergency line, 1-800-880-PSEG (7734).

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: North Jersey winds spread damage, outages, flight delays

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