According to the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Irene, which hit New Jersey’s shores in late August, was actually a tropical storm and not a hurricane.  The center released a 45 page report on Thursday detailing the storm which ravaged the Northern East Coast and left millions without power for up to a week.  This was part of their yearly tropical cyclone reports that are released following the hurricane season, which ended on Nov. 30. 

According to the report, the original estimation that Irene reached 75 miles per hour (mph) was incorrect.  In fact, it topped out at 69 mph.  While that is still a dangerous speed, it falls below the 74 mph classification for a hurricane.  Despite the lower wind speed, the report states that the biggest impact caused by Irene was the rainfall -- nine inches in a 24-hour period in a week where the ground was already completely satuated by several inches of rain.

New Jersey was among the hardest hit states by the storm.  Seven deaths were reported as caused by the storm, almost one million homes were left powerless and the damage cost the state almost $190 million in damage.  New Jersey was declared a federal disaster area and President Barack Obama came to the state to personally examine the damage.

In preparation for the storm, towns like South Orange declared an emergency as did the state, and Governor Chris Christie even stated in a press conference that Hurricane Irene is "not like anything you’ve seen before," and urged residents to take the threat of injury or death seriously.

In Essex County, residents braced for Irene’s impact.  Shelters were set up around the county as Irene’s rain began to fall in the late hours of August 27.  Residents started evacuating the area to avoid the storm’s wrath.   

Following the storm’s trip through the state, the county was left with 150,000 powerless homes and some towns were without water.  However, no deaths were reported.

Many residents in the South Mountain neighborhood had eight feet of water in their basements and yards and experienced flooding from the sewage system as well.

Locally in South Orange, the most significant damage was severe flooding.  Trees fell at a rapid rate which caused some power outages.  The South Orange Department of Public Works (DPW) was out early picking up leaves and branches to fix up the roads as fast as possible.  In addition, residents were able to bring damaged furniture to the DPW lot.

PSE&G worked throughout the week to restore power to South Orange, businesses were able to open the next day and the town didn’t experience any water shortages. 

The town suffered no major damage, no major injuries were reported and it took only two days for the streets to be cleared of water.  South Orange Village President Alex Torpey explained at the time that both residents and town officials deserve credit for South Orange’s success during Tropical Storm Irene.

“I think we fared well, I mean besides for the number of employees and volunteers that were on staff that night, I saw residents the next morning that were raking out storm drains, that had pumps going, I think all in all, people in South Orange were pretty prepared,” said Torpey.  “It was a pretty big contribution towards minimizing the amount of damage downtown.”