At least 3 dead in New Jersey after strong thunderstorms sweep through the Northeast

PLAINFIELD, NJ (AP) — Some residents in the Northeast were spending their July Fourth holiday cleaning up from strong thunderstorms that swept through the region Thursday night, bringing heavy rain, wind and hail.

The storms are being blamed for at least three deaths in central New Jersey, including two men in Plainfield who died after a tree fell onto a vehicle they were traveling in during the height of the storm, according to a city Facebook post.

The men were ages 79 and 25, officials said. They were not immediately publicly identified.

“Our hearts are heavy today,” Mayor Adrian O. Mapp said in a statement. “This tragedy is a sobering reminder of the power of nature and the fragility of life.”

The city canceled its planned July Fourth parade, concert and fireworks show. Mapp said the “devastating” storms had left “deep scars and widespread damage” in the community of more than 54,000 people and it was a time to “regroup and focus all of our energy on recovery.”

Continuing power outages and downed trees were reported Friday throughout southern New England, where some communities received large amounts of hail. There were reports of cars skidding off the road in northeastern Connecticut.