Right now: Power outages wallop Brick, Manchester, Pt. Pleasant

Tropical Storm Nate, down to remnants in Ocean County, apparently has enough muscle left to clobber electrical supplies in at least three shore communities.

Brick and Manchester Townships, almost simultaneously, reported widespread outages that are affecting homes, businesses, and traffic signals. Point Pleasant Borough is also affected, to a lesser degree.

At 1:45 PM, Jersey Central Power and Light's outage map reported 2,310 affected customers in Brick, 182 in neighboring Point Pleasant, and 1,456 in Manchester. The towns had an estimated restoration time of 3:30 PM.

Brick Township police placed the lapse between Route 70 and Jordan Road. Manchester police said that the outage covers much of the eastern half of the township.

JCP&L did not elaborate regarding the root of the problems.