A nor'easter that pounded the Summit area with gusts up to 45 mph and heavy rain over the weekend has pulled out of the region. Drier weather and lighter winds returned Monday afternoon, Sept. 28, with sunshine forecast for Tuesday.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill signed Executive Order No. 25 on Friday, Sept. 25, declaring a state of emergency in eight New Jersey counties ahead of the storm.

Union County was not among them. The order covered Atlantic, Burlington, Cape May, Cumberland, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Salem counties, where coastal flooding posed the greatest risk. But the storm's reach extended well inland. Sherrill said the state focused resources on the hardest-hit areas while monitoring conditions statewide and standing ready to assist other counties that requested help.

A wind advisory from the National Weather Service was in effect from 2 p.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Sunday for the region. The Millburn Office of Emergency Management, citing NWS data, had warned of peak north-northeast gusts of 40 to 55 mph. Because the storm arrived under full foliage, downed limbs and power outages were an elevated risk.

Power outages statewide peaked at more than 57,700 on Sunday morning, Sept. 27, including more than 24,000 in Ocean County and 13,000 in Monmouth County, according to PowerOutage.us data cited by Yahoo News. By Sunday afternoon, outages had fallen to roughly 19,400 as crews worked to restore service. No Union County-specific outage count was available.

Jersey Central Power & Light (JCP&L) had reported 21,259 outages as of 10:45 a.m. Saturday, Patch reported. About 3,200 JCP&L workers were on storm duty, including nearly 1,600 line workers and more than 580 foresters, spokesman Chris Hoenig told NJ 101.5.

The storm killed one person in the region. Leighton Brown, 56, a New York City Housing Authority employee, was struck by a falling tree in East New York, Brooklyn, on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Sherrill said Sunday that Jersey Shore communities had been "hit hard," with severe dune loss in Brigantine and Atlantic City. On Friday, when she signed the emergency order, Sherrill urged residents to take the storm seriously.

"I urge all New Jerseyans to take this storm seriously, stay safe, and be prepared," Sherrill said. "Please charge your phones, secure loose items outside, stock up on food and water, and stay off the roads if possible."

Residents still without power can report outages to JCP&L at 1-800-544-4877 or by texting OUT to 544487. Stay at least 30 feet from any downed power line and assume all downed lines are energized.