Even before Saturday’s thunderstorm ripped through the area, traffic on Long Beach Island reached epic proportions. It began as early as Wednesday morning when traffic was clogged on Long Beach Boulevard in both directions and continued through Saturday when secondary roads, like Ocean Boulevard in Long Beach Township, were snarled with motorists traveling in one direction: north.

The increase in traffic was a mix of the 4th of July holiday, turnover of summer rentals, and the storm.