Timeline Of 2 Ocean County Tornadoes Detailed In New Report

BARNEGAT, NJ — The National Weather Service in Mount Holly has released detailed findings on the timeline and path of the two tornadoes that struck Ocean County last week.

The two confirmed tornadoes that touched down in Ocean County were produced by the same supercell, according to the National Weather Service’s investigation.

Both tornadoes traveled several miles in just about 10 minutes on Thursday, July 29.

Here are the National Weather Service's findings on each tornado:

High Bar Harbor Tornado

Rating: EF-2
Estimated Peak Wind: 115 to 120 mph
Path Length: 4.2 miles
Path Width: 75 yards
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: A few minor

An EF2 tornado powered by peak winds of 120 mph touched down around 9:03 p.m. near the western shore of Barnegat Bay before it moved over the bay as a waterspout. It came ashore in the area of High Bar Harbor in Long Beach Township, where it caused significant damage to multiple homes, according to the weather service's report.

“The most severe damage was noted to a house on the corner of Antioch Road and Arnold Boulevard. This house was facing west-southwest, and had its entire roof structure lifted off and tossed one to two houses to the east,” the weather service said.

Read more: EF2 Tornado Rips Roofs Off NJ Homes In Path Of Destruction

The walls of the house remained standing but most of its doors and windows on the east and west sides of the house were blown out, with significant damage to the inside of the house. Eight people were in the house at the time the tornado hit, but they were able to take shelter in an interior closet, with only minor injuries sustained, according to the report.

"On the north side of the house, a car in the driveway was pushed sideways several feet and their boat flipped into their neighbor`s boat. The boat`s trailer was tossed about 50 feet into a house just to the east," the report said. "The degree and orientation of damage was consistent with tornadic winds of 115 to 120 mph, which is EF2 intensity."

After the tornado moved northeast, about a dozen homes south of Arnold Boulevard lost roof material, sustained siding damage, or had a collapse of porch, patio, and sunroom structures and blown out windows, according to the report. The tornado's path came to an end at 9:13 p.m.

Woodland Twp to Wells Mills Tornado

Rating: EF-1
Estimated Peak Wind: 105 mph
Path Length: 6.6 miles
Path Width: 250 yards
Fatalities: 0
Injuries: 0

An EF-1 tornado that began just west of the border between Burlington and Ocean Counties at 8:42 p.m. traveled northeast for 6.6 miles toward Barnegat. With peak winds up to 105 mph, most of the storm damage consisted of large uprooted pine and spruce trees with a few red maple trees, the report said.

“The orientation of the damage combined with radar signatures clearly indicated the damage was produced by a tornado,” the weather service said. “Some of the heaviest damage occurred on Old Cedar Bridge Road near the Cedar Bridge Tavern Historic Site.”

The tornado crossed Route 72 before moving through over a mile of forest land. Tree damage was found again along Jones Road. From there the tornado moved into the Wells Mills area where the path of tree damage continued, the weather service said.

Many snapped trees and large limbs were found at Wells Mills County Park. The park was closed through Wednesday due to damaged playground equipment and hundreds of downed trees along the trails. Read more: Drone Video Shows Storm Damage At Wells Mills County Park

The tornado's path ended a few hundred yards east of the park around 8:51 p.m.

The National Weather Service said three other tornadoes touched down in New Jersey, including two in Mercer County and one in Essex County. Read more: 5 Tornadoes Confirmed In New Jersey

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