Severe storms bring down trees, power lines in New Jersey
RANDOLPH, N.J. - New Jersey was rocked by severe storms Monday.
Some of the area saw damage, including downed trees and power outages.
A chainsaw helped crews diligently clear a huge tree taken down by a severe thunderstorm Monday in Vernon.
"It was a crazy storm. It was like a tornado," said Andrea Flynn, who works at Burger King.
"We looked at each other. We were like, 'Oh, no,' and the lights started flickering," fellow employee Betty Flaherty said.
The tree sliced power lines from the sky. The sheer force of the takedown snapped a power pole. Crews had to clear the way.
Flaherty and Flynn said it was no surprise power went out at their Burger King - the storm shook the building.
"Everything was flying around. Our doors flew open," Flaherty said.
"When that door flew open, I saw the leaves, sticks, everything just flying past. Oh my God," Flynn said.
"I was freaking out because I was right next to the window," 9-year-old Madison said.
They hunkered down in the dining room until they felt the coast was clear.
"It was black. I said to myself, alright, we're going to get hit," said Angelo Grammatica, owner of Paesano Pizza, which is next door.
Grammatica said the storm was the first in 12 years to send water into his restaurant.
"Never water came in. Never," he said. "It was hailing. I see it. The wind, it was blowing."
Throughout Monday, storms lit up the radar and took trees down across northwest New Jersey.
A severe thunderstorm in Hudson County dropped as much as 1.5 inches of rain in minutes and made travel along River Road in Guttenburg, N.J. challenging for a moment.
When rain dumped in Dover, folks went running. The water rushed downhill so quickly it flowed right over storm drains, and forced manhole covers to sit off kilter.