'Trees Were Bending': Thousands Remain Without Power In New Jersey As Crews Cleaning Up After Destructive Storms

MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (CBS) – Thousands are still without power in New Jersey as crews are cleaning up after Monday night's destructive storms. Some of the wins were clocked at hurricane-strength force. At one point there were at least 300,000 power outages across the Garden State.

PSE&G crews have restored power to nearly 200,000 customers affected by the storm, but more than 37,000 customers still remain without power.

There was extensive storm damage in Burlington County. PSE&G says the county is dealing with the most outages in South Jersey with 22,000 customers still without power.

In Mount Laurel, a large oak tree snapped at the trunk and fell on a house at the corner of Hooton and Church Roads. The tree fell on top of the rancher that has a for sale sign. No one was injured.

"At first we thought it was a tornado coming, the winds were crazy, trees were bending, branches flying everywhere. We heard something, we thought maybe it was one of the trash cans hitting the house actually, and we saw police cars and it was actually a tree that came down across the street," neighbor Erica Tarchichi said.

Portions of South Church Road were closed for power line repair as utility crews and homeowners were both busy clearing debris from the storm.

On the 600 block of Mount Laurel Road, two utility poles snapped like twigs, shutting down traffic and leaving some without electricity.

"The wind was crazy, the umbrellas came right out of our tables and blew away, and it was dark, the trees swirling around. Then we hear cracking of the wood and we definitely lost a tree on the side of the house," Diana Crook said.

It may take several days to clean up all the downed trees and limbs but roads are re-opening in Mount Laurel.

In Camden County, more than 11,000 customers remain without power.

Powerful Storms, Winds Knock Out Power For Thousands, Topple Trees Across Delaware Valley

Peter Shaw and his 15-year-old son witnessed the power of Mother Nature when heavy and strong winds brought down a tree outside their Cherry Hill home on Monday evening.

"I could see the sidewalk starting to buckle, the next thing you know the whole tree fell over," Shaw said.

Traffic lights are out at Haddon and Collings Avenues in Collingswood as thousands of customers are still without power.

CBS3 found downed trees, some on power lines, across the neighborhood.

"Another branch fell on our car," Kathleen Miller said.

Miller says she's leaving home until her power is restored.

Employees at Sabrina's Cafe arrived to work to find there was no power, plus a gas leak. Crews are working to fix both issues.

The power outages are also affecting public transportation service.

PATCO's Lindenwold and Ashland Stations will be closed due to downed wires between Woodcrest and Ashland.

PATCO says trains will run on a limited schedule between Woodcrest Station and 15/16th and Locust Streets until further notice. The trains will run every 10 to 15 minutes as locals.

The Atlantic City Rail is also suspended in both directions between Lindenwold and Cherry Hill because of downed wires across the tracks.

NJ Transit is accepting rail tickets and passes on the NJ Transit bus between Lindenwold and Atlantic City.

To view all NJ Transit Rail services operating with alerts on Tuesday morning, click here.

• Camden County
• Mercer County
• Gloucester County
• Burlington County
• New Jersey Weather