Category 10 Winds, Along with Intense Squall and Thunderstorms, Create Instant Chaos Across West Essex Tuesday

by Carolyne Volpe Curley / Carolyne@WestEssexNOW.com
Published 9:22pm

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Big Piece Road at Dell Court, Fairfield PHOTO: Mark Andrew Bilhuber

WEST ESSEX, NJ - Late Tuesday afternoon, West Essex was slammed with a storm so strong that many have questioned if we had a tornado come through the area.

While some areas of New York did see tornados touch down, West Essex experienced a brief, but incredibly powerful, Squall with Whole Gale, Category 10, 66mph Winds, which was followed up by equally damaging Thunderstorms. 

The violently intense onset was reported by NOAA's Fairfield Weather Station as a Squall - which they define as a "sudden violent gust of wind or a localized storm" - and it began in West Essex at 4:44pm,  followed by Thunderstorms which continued until 6:01pm. ​

In this very short period of time, the Winds, Lightning, and Rain caused a huge amount of damage around the West Essex area. 

What follows is a timeline of incidents chronicled as they were reported (not as they occured) to which Police, Fire and DPW crews responded and worked tirelessly to clean up for days: 

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Tuesday, May 15

4:44pm

• Caldwell: Grover Lane by Hatfield Street
  • Live wires down
    ​
• Caldwell: Gladding Road by tennis courts
  • Tree uprooted, fell into house; large branch of it pulled down Live Wires
    • Gladding Road closed

4:46pm

• North Caldwell: East Greenbrook at Mountain Avenue
  • Accident
    
    

4:48pm

• Fairfield: Krauser's Parking Lot, Hollywood Avenue
  • Live wires down on unoccupied car, Active Fire

4:49pm

• Fairfield: Carlos Drive
  • Active Brush Fire

4:50pm

• Caldwell: Thomas Street near cemetary
  • Large Tree uprooted and pulled down Utility Pole
    • Transformer Fire
    • Live Wires on car
• Caldwell: Prospect Street near cemetary
  • Transformer Fire
    
    

All available first responders were called to report to headquarters.

4:51pm

• West Caldwell: Mountain Avenue near Arbor Road
  • Live Wires down
• North Caldwell: Mountain Avenue near Arbor Road
  • Transformer Fire
    • Mountain Avenue shut down

4:55pm

• Fairfield: Dwight Place at Gramon School
  • Live Wires down near School and actively burning on side of building by playground,
  • causing heavy smoke condition
    
    

4:58pm

• ​Essex Fells / Verona: Fells Road near Bloomfield Avenue
  • ​Live Wires arcing on Large tree down

Stewart Road, Essex Fells PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley

5pm

• ​Essex Fells: Stewart Road
  • Trees Down, Live Wires down sparking, Utility Pole split

5:02pm

• Fairfield: Kingbridge Road by Passaic Avenue
  • Utility Pole on Fire

​​5:04pm

• West Caldwell: Francine Avenue near Franklin Avenue
  • Live Wire down
    
    

5:08pm

• Fairfield: Esposito Drive near Midvale Avenue
  • Several trees down blocking roads
    
    

5:10pm

• Caldwell: Elm Road, behind gas station, near White Rock
  • Large trees down blocking road
    
    
• Unclear location, Passaic Avene
  • Telephone pole suspended in air by the wires
  • other poles snapped

Grandview Avenue by Sunset Drive, North Caldwell PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley

5:11pm

• North Caldwell: Grandview Avenue near Sunset Drive
  • Large tree down on Live Wires
  • Grandview Avenue closed at location

 

• West Caldwell: Bloomfield Avenue, near Sanford Avenue
  • Live Wires down, cars attempting to drive through it
    • Road closed
    • Traffic backed up to Passaic Avenue

5:14pm

• West Caldwell: Stonybrook Avenue near Annin Road, near Washington School
  • Live Wires down, tree across road

Cedars Road near Washburn Place, Caldwell PHOTO: Chris Wysocki

5:16pm

• Caldwell: Gould Place near Westville Avenue
  • Tree onto multiple unoccupied cars

5:17pm

• Essex Fells: Fells Road by Devon Road
  
  • Tree across road

Campbell Road at Bodkin Road, Fairfield PHOTO: Bonnie Kamochi

5:18pm

• Fairfield: Campbell Road near Bodkin
  • Tree onto house with odor of gas coming from the house
    
    

5:19pm

• Location Unclear
  • Accident with airbag deployment

5:24pm

• Caldwell: Birkendene Road, Cherry Lane, Cleveland Road
  • 3 Utility Poles pulled down

Passaic Avenue across from Essex County Airport, Fairfield PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley

Passaic Avenue across from Essex County Airport, Fairfield PHOTO: Fiona Curley

​​5:27pm

• Fairfield: Passaic Avenue near Boardwalk Pizza
  • Tree down and blocking the lane
  
  
  
  
• Fairfield: New Dutch Lane
  • Tree down and blocking the lane
  • Live Wires down, brush and bushes on fire
    
    

5:29pm

• West Caldwell: Grover Lane
  • unclear

5:31pm

• North Caldwell: Maywood Court at Gould Avenue
  • Utility Pole down across Maywood

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Williamsburg Drive, Roseland PHOTO: Michele Madia Valeriani

5:32pm

• Roseland: Passaic Avenue near Green Avenue
  • Utility Pole on fire

5:33pm

• West Caldwell: Bloomfield Avenue near Johnson Avenue
  • Office building ceiling collapse
• North Caldwell: Hamilton Drive North at Rosemont Court
  • Road blocked by tree issues
• North Caldwell: Evergreen Drive at North Terrace
  • Road blocked by tree issues

5:35pm

• West Caldwell: Oak Grove Road by White Birch Terrace
  • 2 large Tree into house

5:36pm

• North Caldwell: Evergreen Drive by Green Place
  • Tree into back of house

5:37pm

• Fairfield: Hollywood Avenue by Big Piece Road
  • Utility Pole snapped; Live Wires down

5:39pm

• Fairfield: Horseneck Road near Park Avenue
  • Tree down

5:41pm

• North Caldwell: Hamilton Drive East by Green Place
  • Live Wires down, large branches down

5:42pm

• West Caldwell: Thrumont Road by Westover Avenue
  • Live Wires down

5:44pm

• West Caldwell: Sunnie Terrace by Westville Avenue
  • Live Wires detached from House

Police begin welfare checks of residences, including homes where children are on their own. 

5:45pm

• Fairfield: Fairfield Road near Woodland Road
  • Smoke condition

5:48pm

• West Caldwell: Park Street near Evergreen Road
  • Trees across Park Street
  • Live Wires down
    
    
• Fairfield: Brook Street by Clinton Road
  • Tree down, Live Wires down

5:51pm

• North Caldwell: Central Avenue near Grandview Avenue
  • Tree hanging across wires
  • Tree on car
  • Grandview Avenue closed
    
    
• Fairfield: Brook Street by Oak Road
  • Utility Pole into House
  • Live Wires low hanging across Brook Street - road closed

5:52pm

• Montville / Fairfield - Bloomfield Avenue
  • Live Wires down
  • Bloomfield Avenue closed down
    ​

Repeated call for all available First Responders and Work Crews to report to their headquarters.

5:55pm

• West Caldwell: Lombard Drive near Pine Tree Place
  • Live Wires down
    ​

5:58pm

• North Caldwell: Glenview Road near Ferndale Road
  • Tree and Live Wires down

Roseland Methodist Church, Eagle Rock Avenue PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley

Roseland Methodist Church, Eagle Rock Avenue PHOTO: Carolyne Volpe Curley

5:59pm 

Roseland: Eagle Rock Avenue, Methodist Church

• Large Tree Branch down across driveway

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Midvale Avenue near Esposito Drive, Fairfield PHOTO: Mark Andrew Bilhuber

6:04pm

• Fairfield: Midvale Avenue near Esposito Drive
  • Large Tree down blocking Esposito Drive
  • Multiple Live Wires and Utility poles down
    • Esposito Drive closed

6:08pm

• West Caldwell: Westover Avenue near Ravine Avenue
  • Live Wires down

6:12pm

• Fairfield: Henning Drive and Hollywood Avenue
  • Low hanging Live Wires
  • Large tree down

6:14pm

• Fairfield: Big Piece Road and Horseneck Road
  • Live Wires down, connected to house

6:16pm

• Fairfield: Big Piece Road near DPW building
  • Tree blocking road
  • Tree into House
  • Big Piece closed near Dell Court

6:20pm

• West Caldwell: Woodmere Road near James Caldwell HS
  • Live Wire down blocking entrance to house

Hamilton Drive South by Woodland Place, North Caldwell PHOTO: Lisa Margolis Goldstein

6:22pm

• North Caldwell: Grandview Place near Grandview Avenue
  • Tree down

6:25pm

• Location unclear
  • Transformer and Live Wires down

Alan Drive, Fairfield PHOTO: Lisa Pitera Pasternak‎

6:26pm

• Fairfield: Craig Place near Bodkin Road
  • Tree down; Neighbor dispute over ownership 

Gazebo from lower deck landed upside down on upper deck, Lane Avenue, Caldwell PHOTO: Janna Smith

6:29pm

• Caldwell: Parkway West near Oak Grove Road
  • Live Wires down

6:30pm

• Caldwell: Bowers Road near Cherry Lane
  • Live Wires down​ 
    ​

6:31pm​

• Fairfield: Gately Overpass near Fairfield Road
  • Tree down
    ​

6:32pm

• West Caldwell: Lane Avenue near Klimback Court
  • Tree into Garage

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6:39pm

• Fairfield: Stewart Place near Commerce Road
  • Tree issue

6:41pm

• Unclear Location: Park Avenue
  • Tree into Garage

​
7:02pm

• West Caldwell: Hillside Avenue near Harrison Street
  • Tree into House

Kennedy Drive, Fairfield PHOTO: Fairfield Police

7:06pm

• Fairfield: Kennedy Drive near Holly Drive 
  • Large tree down across driveway

7:23pm

• North Caldwell: West Essex High School / Middle Schools
  • Large Tree Down, Branches Down, Live Wires Down

7:31pm

• Fairfield: Big Piece Road near Dell Court
  • Uprooted Tree into house with Gas Line exposed

7:55pm

• West Caldwell: Evergreen Road near Park Street
  • Tree Down

8:04pm

• Caldwell: Westville Avenue near Thomas Street
  • Tree Down on property

8:12pm

• West Caldwell: Elmwood Terrace near McKinley Avenue
  • Live Wires down

8:18pm

• Caldwell: Highview Road near Prospect Street
  • Tree into House

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By the end of the Storm, over 90 streets which included hundreds of residents, were without power: ​

CALDWELL
- Beekman Hill Road 
- Birkendene Road
- Bloomfield Avenue
- Bowers Road
- Brookside Avenue
- Cedars Road
- Cherry Lane
- Cleveland Road
- Crane Street 
- Elizabeth Street 
- Elm Road 
- Erwin Place
- Ferndale Road
- Gladding Road 
- Gould Place
- Grover Lane
- Hatfield Street
- Highview Road
- Hillside Avenue
- Linwood Terrace
- Overlook Road
- Parkway East
- Personette Street
- Prospect Street
- Roseland Avenue surges
- Ryerson Avenue
- Seymour Street
- Thomas Street
- Washburn Street

ESSEX FELLS 
- Avon Drive
- Devon Road
- Forest Way 
- Gordon Road
- Grove Street
- Hawthorne Road
- Holton Lane
- Oak Lane
- Old Chester Road
- Oval Road
- Park Lane
- Rensselaer Road
- Roseland Avenue
- Stewart Road

FAIRFIELD
- Big Piece Road
- Commerce Road
- Concord Road
- Crestwood Avenue
- Esposito Drive
- Fox Hill Road
- Henning Drive 
- Hillside Drive
- Hollywood Avenue
- Kennedy Drive 
- Oak Road
- Phylis Lane
- Route 46 
- Stewart Place
- Vine Street ​

NORTH CALDWELL
- Arbor Road
- Brookside Terrace
- Courter Lane
- East Greenbrook Road
- Ferndale Road
- Hill Street 
- Mountain Avenue
- Rickland Drive
- White Oak Drive
- Wind Ridge Drive

ROSELAND 
- Davenport Avenue
- Eagle Rock Avenue 
- Godfrey Avenue
- Mitchell Avenue
- Monroe Avenue
- Roseland Place
- Route 280
- Thackery Drive
- Williamsburg Drive
​
WEST CALDWELL
- Beechwood Road
- Bloomfield Avenue
- Debaun Avenue 
- Distler Avenue
- Farrington Street
- Gardens
- Johnson Avenue
- Lee Drive
- Parkview Ave
- Richard Avenue
- Runnymede
- Sanford Avenue
- Westville Avenue

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