UPDATE: Power Outages Linger in Rahway and Linden as Region's Record Heat Wave Finally Breaks
Some homes in Rahway and Linden remain without power four days after last week's storm, even as the region's record heat wave gives way to flooding rain.
Fallen trees along Route 27 in Woodbridge following severe thunderstorms over the July 4th holiday weekend.
Editor’s note: The Central Jerseyan is free to read and supported by advertising. If you value this kind of local reporting and want to help sustain it, you can become a citizen supporter on Patreon. Your contribution helps fund continued coverage of local government, schools, and community issues.
Chris Howell | July 7, 2026
Four days after a severe storm tore through Central Jersey, some homes in Rahway and Linden are still waiting for their power to come back on. At the same time, the record-breaking heat wave that gripped the region over the holiday weekend has finally started to ease.
Local leaders say crews are still working hard to finish the job. Rahway Mayor Raymond Giacobbe told the City Council on Monday night that some residents remained without power and that the city was doing everything it could to help. In Linden, Mayor Derek Armstead posted an update the same day, calling power restoration and tree removal the city’s top priority.
PSE&G’s live outage map showed roughly 28 customers still without power in the Rahway area and about 30 in Linden as of early Tuesday morning. Woodbridge Township showed fewer than five customers affected. Edison and Metuchen showed no active outages on the same map. Statewide, PSE&G reported 414 active outages affecting 5,710 customers, down sharply from more than 300,000 customers at the height of Friday’s storm.
Armstead said he has stayed in close contact with PSE&G as crews assess the damage across Linden, and the city’s public works department, emergency management office, police, and fire departments work alongside them.
DON’T LET AN ALGORITHM DECIDE YOUR NEWS
Sign up for The Central Jerseyan Newsletter for independent local news and events every weekend.
“This has been a sleepless and tireless Fourth of July weekend, but serving the people of Linden has always been my priority,” Armstead said.
Armstead also explained why some outages take longer to fix than others. When a fallen tree gets tangled in a live power line, PSE&G must first make the area safe before city tree crews can remove it, he said. He urged residents to keep reporting outages through the PSE&G mobile app, by texting OUT to 4PSEG (47734), by calling 1-800-436-PSEG, or through PSE&G’s online outage map.
The storm has been tied to one death in the region. A large tree limb fell on a moving vehicle in nearby Scotch Plains Friday night, killing the driver and injuring a passenger.
The heat wave that came before the storm has proven deadly across the state. New Jersey’s death toll from the heat itself, separate from the storm, has climbed to at least 29 suspected heat-related deaths as of the latest count from the state Department of Health, up from 19 reported when Gov. Mikie Sherrill and health officials first addressed the toll on Saturday. Sherrill has called it the hottest stretch the state has seen in more than 14 years. Atlantic City hit 106 degrees on July 4, which the National Weather Service says broke the city’s all-time heat record.
That heat has now broken across Central Jersey, but it gave way to a different problem. The National Weather Service in Mount Holly issued a Flood Watch covering Middlesex and Union counties through Monday night. Forecasters warned heavy rain could cause flash flooding in urban areas, along creeks and streams, and in other low-lying, flood-prone spots.
The same storm system hit Monmouth County especially hard. Wall Township received 5.45 inches of rain in 24 hours. The heavy rain and flooding caused a portion of the roof to collapse at a BJ’s Wholesale Club in Ocean Township, though no injuries were reported. Police in Asbury Park rescued several people, including an infant, from flooded vehicles. Route 35 in Ocean Township was closed as “too dangerous to travel,” according to the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office.
Middlesex and Union counties did not see flooding on that scale, but skies are expected to clear through the rest of the week. Tuesday’s forecast calls for a high near 77 with a chance of showers in the afternoon. Wednesday brings a high near 82 and mostly sunny skies, a welcome return to normal summer weather after days of dangerous heat followed by heavy rain.
Editor’s note: The Central Jerseyan is free to read and supported by advertising. If you value this kind of local reporting and want to help sustain it, you can become a citizen supporter on Patreon. Your contribution helps fund continued coverage of local government, schools, and community issues.