Morristown was sizing up damage on Monday evening in the wake of an afternoon thunderstorm that pelted the area with pebble-sized hail, flooded streets, knocked down trees and disabled traffic signals.
Route 287 experienced heavy flooding, and flooding also was reported on Madison Avenue, Woodland Avenue and Pine Street.
“This remains a dangerous situation,” the National Weather Service advised around 5 pm.
“The hail was very scary and I thought my windshield was going to crack!” reader Frannie Fran commented on Morristown Green’s Facebook page.
“Can you say ‘Climate Change’?” added reader Bill Schlosser, citing blown-out apartment windows and a metal exhaust fan ripped from a roof on Morris Street.
Morristown Public Safety Director Michael Corcoran Jr. said no injuries were reported.
Firefighters pumped out at least eight basements, mostly on King and Pine streets. Some basements were filled almost completely with water, said Morristown Fire Chief Robert Flanagan.
“We’ve been going non-stop” since the storm barreled through around 3:30 pm, Flanagan said.
As of late Monday, about 100 homes in Morristown and Morris Township remained without power, according to Jersey Central Power & Light.
Macculloch Avenue: Video by Linda Carrington:
A flash flood warning was in effect through through the early part of the evening, and a severe thunderstorm watch extended until 11 pm for Greater Morristown.
Flanagan said a huge tree fell on Madison Avenue near CareOne. The fire department pulled cars out of the water on Route 287, he said, and responded to a report of a man trapped in his car on Pine Street. The driver was able to free himself, Flanagan.
The downpour also produced a sink-hole on private property on Hillcrest Avenue, the fire chief said.
Such violent summer storms are becoming commonplace, it seems.
In August 2018, a 17-year-old driver miraculously emerged unscathed after a giant tree crashed onto his vehicle in front of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.
A motorist from Roselle was not so lucky in June of that year; a powerful storm knocked a tree onto her vehicle on Ford Avenue. She died days later.
In July 2016, another mid-afternoon storm caused extensive damage, knocking out power and forcing postponement of the Verizon Corporate Classic 5K.
During the height of Monday’s storm, a dining tent outside the Morristown Diner partially collapsed. Nobody was underneath it, fortunately.
“I haven’t seen a storm like this in a long time,” said diner owner Peter Rotsides, who has been trying to build his outdoor business while awaiting state permission to resume indoor dining, as New Jersey’s economy slowly emerges from the pandemic.
“What else could happen?” Rotsides said.
This story has been updated with additional photos and video.
