Area towns clean up damage after gusts hit 50 mph.
By: David Campbell
The wind, she do blow.
On Wednesday, winds gusting up to 50 mph swept through the region, littering the streets with downed branches, causing car doors to protest when opened, and people to walk in curious, forward-leaning gaits.
According to Assistant State Climatologist Keith Arnesan, the average wind speed on Wednesday was about 30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph. By way of comparison, a typical day might witness winds of from 10 to 15 mph.
"It was pretty whippy," Mr. Arnesan said.
Wednesday’s exceptional breeziness, the climatologist explained, was due to air rushing from an atmospheric high-pressure center over Texas to a low-pressure zone in northern New York state.
The effect is something like opening a can of coffee, but on a much grander scale, he continued. When the seal is broken, that hiss one hears is the high-pressure atmosphere of the room rushing into the area of low pressure on the vacuum-sealed can.
"The atmosphere doesn’t like imbalances," Mr. Arnesan said. "That hiss is really a little wind."
Area communities felt the results on Wednesday, and not without inconvenience.
For example, motorists on Route 206 in Princeton Township found themselves stuck in traffic after a tree fell across the roadway in the vicinity of Ewing Street.
The tree brought down some power lines and sparked a fire in the roadway, which, after it was extinguished, left a large hole in the road and made the southbound lane impassable. Public Service Electric & Gas Co. and state road crews were called in and the southbound lane was closed for repair until evening, township police said.
Wayne Carr, Princeton Borough director of public works, said three sizeable trees were felled by the high winds. One tree knocked out another tree on Moore Street near Hamilton Avenue and another was toppled on University Place. There seemed to be no damage to the nearby properties, Mr. Carr said.
"We were lucky," he said.
In West Windsor Township, police reported several instances of wind bringing down trees on residents’ properties and on wires in the township. Some traffic signals were also knocked out Wednesday night as a result of the high winds, said Detective James Carvalho.
But the detective said West Windsor’s experience was pretty much in line with what other area communities likely saw. "We didn’t have anything of any consequence," Detective Carvalho said.
Montgomery Township police said they responded to numerous calls on Wednesday night due to the weather. Sergeant Jim Gill said four roads were closed because of blown over trees and utility poles. River Road, Cherry Hill Road, Route 601 and Province Line Road were all closed at some point throughout the day because of downed debris, police said.
A portion of Province Line Road between High Ridge Road and Cherry Valley Road remained closed through Thursday. Sgt. Gill said repairs are needed before the road reopens, likely today.
And it wasn’t just downed trees complicating life in Montgomery Township. On Ketcham Road, the wind sent a large trampoline through the back of a home, the sergeant said. No injuries were reported.
Staff Writers Jennifer Potash, Jill Matthews and Kara Fitzpatrick contributed to this story.

