"I saw everything get sucked in the water, all our lawn furniture, the tables, the canoes, our kayaks. It was just sucking everything off the beach into the water," Cindy said.
"I never even saw the trees pop. You just heard it and it was over that fast. I'm just thankful no one was hurt," Craig Fry said.
Utility crews worked to separate tree limbs from downed power lines to restore electricity while homeowners were cleaning up the mess the storm left behind.
Stewart Lee yellow truck was found underneath fallen trees at his dad's house.
"The hood, the roof, the windows, and the radiator's shot," Stewart said.
The 60-70 mph winds turned one branch into a missile that fired right through the front window of a Mercedes on Chipawa Trail.
"That's double-paned glass, I think, so if the force of that hit somebody it definitely would have went through them, no doubt about it," Anthony said.
Because of the storm, the annual Canoe Carnival in Medford Lakes had to be postponed for the first time in 80 years.
This year's theme is "New Jersey" and all floats in the carnival have to be built to travel on just two canoes lashed together. Unfortunately, the 42-foot high outline of the state, complete with a lighthouse, the Jersey devil, and a turnpike sign, was toppled and ruined in the storm.
"You heard snapping and then the whole thing just came tumbling down and then everybody else, all you heard was just an 'ooh' all the way around the lake," Brian Summerville said.
The carnival will go on next weekend. Residents hope by then the debris will be cleaned up and the weather will cooperate.
