PSE&G says crews will be ready to respond in the event of possible power outages during Christmas Eve’s storm.

Winds in Monmouth County could reach 40 mph with gusts of 60 mph, which could put a damper on Christmas celebrations.

There is concern that torrential rain and wind could cause many families to wake up in the dark on Christmas morning.

Neighborhoods in Freehold are lined with power lines and old trees. Often when there's a storm in this area, branches break and pull down power lines. And in this case, homeowners could see some holiday decorations take off in the wind.

The threat of bad weather is serious enough that the Gov. Phil Murphy and State Police Superintendent Pat Callahan were talking about it Wednesday.

"It is coming in Christmas Eve into Christmas Day, and it looks like it's one to two inches of rain, but it looks like very strong winds," Murphy said.

"Have generators ready to go, batteries for flashlights. Remember to run those generators outside so we don't have a carbon monoxide tragedy," Callahan urged.

PSE&G spokesman Tony Garrihy says they are already preparing crews to come into work over the holiday to help get the power back on if necessary.

"If you do have an outage, let us know about it," Garrihy says. "Much of our workforce will be available to us coming in on their vacation to make sure that customer service is cared for and services are restored as quickly as possible."

Residents are advised to be prepared for power outages to last into the weekend, as it could be difficult to get out-of-state help due to the holiday.