Wind Gusts Snap Tree on Dogwood Drive in Lawrence

The gusty winds today (Thursday, June 2) are being blamed for toppling a large tree and temporarily knocking out power to a handful of homes on Dogwood Drive.

Lawrenceville Patch reader Stephen Monfre sent in this photo of the downed evergreen, which took down some power lines in the area.

He estimated the tree stood between 50 and 60 feet tall before it came down in his neighbor’s yard about 11:45 a.m.

“We were commenting with the owners of the house that it fell when their cars were out of the driveway and their kids were not playing outside.  If the tree had fallen 2-3 feet to the right, it would have hit the house.  If it fell 10 feet to the left it would have hit the neighbor's house,” Monfre said.

The strong wind, in part, prompted the National Weather Service this morning to issue a special weather statement about enhanced fire weather concerns throughout New Jersey.

“A drier and gusty west to northwest wind will increase over the area this morning and persist into the afternoon. Relative humidity levels and fuel moisture levels will decrease through the day also. These conditions increase concerns for wildfire growth across the area today. Consider postponing any activity that involves outside burning today,” the weather service said in the advisory issued at 8:06 a.m.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service, as of this afternoon, said the fire danger level in Central Jersey was “high.”

Several times a day, the forest fire service evaluates the wildfire danger level throughout the state, using a scale that goes from “low” to “extreme,” with “high” in the middle position of the five danger levels.

The wind in the Mercer County region was blowing between 17 and 21 mph this afternoon, with gusts in the mid-20s, according to the weather service.