A cluster of severe thunderstorms tore through central New Jersey this evening, felling trees and knocking out power to at least 70,000 homes and businesses.

Monmouth County emergency officials reported to the National Weather Service that one person was injured when they were struck by lightning at Monmouth Beach. The person's condition was not immediately known.

The storms, which packed winds in excess of 55 mph, capped off the state’s hottest day of the year with many locations in the state reaching 100 degrees. Atlantic City set a new record high temperature for the day at 100 degrees, besting the previous mark of 98 set in 1986 and 2010.

As of 8:15 p.m., Jersey Central Power and Light was reporting at least 55,000 customers without power in the wake of the storms, with Monmouth, Ocean and Hunterdon Counties being the hardest hit.

PSE&G, meanwhile, reported between 10,000 and 20,000 customers were without power after the storms moved through. Atlantic City Electric reported about 5,000 outages in areas affected by the storms.

In Seaside Heights, a power failure left several people briefly trapped on rides, according to storm reports collected by the National Weather Service. In Toms River, wind gusts were estimated by emergency officials to be 75 mph, and trees were uprooted all over town.

more pictures and video as they become available !

725 PM     TSTM WND DMG     HOWELL TWP              40.19N  74.20W
07/07/2012                   MONMOUTH           NJ   TRAINED SPOTTER

            MULTIPLE TREES DOWN IN THE TOWNSHIP... FREEHOLD ROAD
            BLOCKED.

0730 PM     TSTM WND DMG     JACKSON TWP             40.12N  74.35W
07/07/2012                   OCEAN              NJ   911 CALL CENTER

            MULTIPLE TREES DOWN.

0733 PM     TSTM WND DMG     NORMANDY BEACH          40.00N  74.06W
07/07/2012                   OCEAN              NJ   PUBLIC

            LARGE LIMBS DOWN.

0740 PM     TSTM WND GST     BRICK TWP               40.07N  74.12W
07/07/2012  M78 MPH          OCEAN              NJ   UTILITY COMPANY

            ALSO PUBLIC REPORTS OF DOWNED TREES.

0740 PM     TSTM WND DMG     TOMS RIVER              39.95N  74.20W
07/07/2012                   OCEAN              NJ   911 CALL CENTER

            MULTIPLE REPORTS OF TREES AND TREE LIMBS DOWN IN TOMS
            RIVER. WIND GUSTS ESTIMATED AROUND 75 MPH.

0745 PM     TSTM WND DMG     SEASIDE HEIGHTS         39.94N  74.08W
07/07/2012                   OCEAN              NJ   TRAINED SPOTTER

            POLES AND WIRES DOWN... AT LEAST ONE TREE DOWN...
            PEOPLE TEMPORARILY TRAPPED ON SKY RIDE.

0751 PM     LIGHTNING        MONMOUTH BEACH          40.34N  73.99W
07/07/2012                   MONMOUTH           NJ   EMERGENCY MNGR

            *** 1 INJ *** PERSON STRUCK BY LIGHTNING... CPR BEING
            ADMINISTERED.

0754 PM     TSTM WND DMG     LAVALLETTE              39.97N  74.07W
07/07/2012                   OCEAN              NJ   PUBLIC

            POLES AND WIRES DOWN...

0755 PM     TSTM WND GST     BEACHWOOD               39.93N  74.20W
07/07/2012  M60 MPH          OCEAN              NJ   WEATHER FLOW

0755 PM     TSTM WND DMG     PINE BEACH              39.94N  74.17W
07/07/2012                   OCEAN              NJ   PUBLIC

            TREES DOWN

0800 PM     TSTM WND DMG     BAYVILLE                39.91N  74.15W
07/07/2012                   OCEAN              NJ   PUBLIC