Thousands lose power in New Jersey

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Utility companies in New Jersey are reporting that nearly 58,000 customers are without power, with the majority of those affected in central and southern areas.

Jersey Central Power & Light says about 27,000 customers were without power Saturday night, with outages along the coast from north of Sea Bright south to near Barnegat Light. The outages come as a strong winter storm packing high wind and snow moves through New Jersey.

Atlantic City Electric reports roughly 30,500 customers without power. The outages stretch from Barnegat Beach south to Cape May and as far west as Mantua.

Gov. Chris Christie declared a state of emergency Friday night in New Jersey.

Forecasters say the storm could dump more than two feet of snow on parts of the state and flood the coast.