Elsa leaves Jersey Shore largely unscathed

Though it skirted the coast and prompted tornado warnings, Tropical Storm Elsa caused minimal damage at the Jersey Shore.

Atlantic City Power said at the height of the storm 820 customers lost electricity by 5 a.m. Friday. As of 3 p.m., only 71 customers remain in the dark.

No major issues were reported in Ocean County, according to Sheriff Michael Mastronardy.

In Atlantic County, a portion of Route 152 — from the Somers Point-Egg Harbor Township line to Route 52 — was closed Friday due to some storm damage, said Mark Pino, deputy emergency management coordinator for the county.

“There’s probably six to eight poles that were sheared off, laying in the highway,” he said, adding that about a 2-mile stretch of the road was affected. All things considered, Pino said, the county was lucky there were no reports of property damage.

Cape May County made out “very well” during the storm, said county spokeswoman Diane Wieland. The timing helped to avoid the damage typically associated with tropical storms, she said.

“All the reports indicated that the height [of Elsa] would hit during low tide, which it did; that prevented coastal flooding,” Wieland said, adding that the wind’s shifting to the northwest eased any type of erosion or wind damage.

The National Weather Service in Mount Holly saidrain totals in the region ranged from 1 to 3 inches. By 8 a.m. Friday, all watches and warnings had been canceled.

Officials for the weather service planned to be in the Tuckerton area Friday to investigate a possible tornado touchdown there. They will also investigate another possible touchdown in southern Sussex County, Delaware.