Heat wave continues Sunday at Shore with potential for powerful afternoon storms

The heat wave is expected to continue for one more day on Sunday, bringing with it highs in the upper 90s and potentially severe thunderstorms in the afternoon, forecasters said.

Meanwhile, JCP&L crews were restoring power to thousands of Monmouth County residents, who were clearing away downed trees and branches left by a thunderstorm that tore through the area Saturday afternoon. As of 4:45 p.m. Sunday, 950 customers remained without power.

"There was extensive tree damage (to power lines) throughout Highlands, Atlantic Highlands, the Middletown area where that cell went through," Chris Hoenig, spokesperson for JCP&L, said on Sunday.

The heat, humidity and pop-up thunderstorms added to a tumultuous start of the summer that has been headlined by wire issues and disabled trains that have upended rail service to New York.

Residents could get relief from the heat on Monday, but not before one last blast. The forecast for Sunday called for a high near 97 degrees with the heat index − the combination of the temperature and humidity − rising to 106 degrees.

By 1 p.m., Wall Township reported 99 degrees; Toms River, 96; Howell, 96; and Holmdel, 94, according to Rutgers Weather Network.

Temperatures along the coast were expected to be cooler with highs near 85 degrees. Coastal Ocean County has an alert for a high risk of rip currents until 8 p.m.

However, Monmouth and Ocean counties could see severe thunderstorms after 3 p.m. with damaging winds, possible brief tornadoes and flash floods, Patrick O'Hara, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, said.

The band of storms could be more organized that one that developed quickly Saturday afternoon and roared through parts of Monmouth County. Wind gusts reached 62 mph at Sandy Hook, O'Hara said.

Lightning from the storm struck a high-voltage sub-transmission line, leaving thousands of residents in Highlands, Atlantic Highlands and Middletown without power. Crews initially thought they could restore power by 10 p.m. Saturday night, but they found more extensive damage, Hoenig said.

For example, one circuit area providing power for parts of Middletown and Atlantic Highlands includes about 26 miles of power lines. JCP&L found seven different locations in that area where trees came down on lines, Hoenig said.

As of 4:45 p.m., 504 customers in Middletown, 323 customers in Atlantic Highlands, 68 customers in Little Silver and 25 customers in Fair Haven were without power, according to the JCP&L outage map.

"Unfortunately, tree damage involves time-consuming, labor-intensive repair," Hoenig said.

This is a developing story. Check back on app.com throughout the day.

Michael L. Diamond is a reporter at the Asbury Park Press. He can be reached at mdiamond@gannettnj.com.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: NJ shore weather: Heat wave continues with chance for severe storms