Tornado In Camden County Leads To Expert Providing Useful Tips, Facts

NEW JERSEY — The F1 tornado that passed through the Deer Park Circle section of Gloucester Township on June 9 causing mostly tree damage was, in all likelihood, not the only severe weather that will pass through New Jersey in 2022, an expert said.

Nationwide, as many as 20 named storms and eight hurricanes are in the cards this season, according to AccuWeather meteorologist and hurricane expert Dan Kottlowski. As many as five hurricanes could be Category 3 strength and contain winds over 111 MPH, he added.

Time and again, experts like Kottlowski have stressed the importance of being prepared for severe weather, regardless of whether it is a hurricane, blizzard, tropical storm, tornado or some other weather phenomena is expected.

Therefore, Patch asked Sarah Johnson, a Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Philadelphia and Mount Holly, to provide some important takeaways from the June 9 tornado.

Certain Storms Prompt Cell Phone Alerts

Weather events with wind speeds that are expected to reach 80 MPH or higher, or produce hail that is baseball-sized or larger are the only type of weather events that will trigger a cell phone alert, according to Johnson.

Weather Warnings Should Come From Multiple Sources

The National Weather Service is "a big proponent of people having multiple ways to receive weather-related warnings," Johnson said. Other sources of weather warnings include weather radio, websites, television and radio stations, apps and even some municipalities, she added.

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings Should Not Be Ignored
The term straight-line winds means "winds with a severe thunderstorm not associated with a tornado, [but] will oftentimes do more damage than a tornado," Johnson said. "Thus, residents should take the same precautions against severe thunderstorms as one would with tornadoes."

Number Of Tornado Warnings Reached Record High In 2021

"When we look at 2019, 2020 and 2021, we're well above normal as far as severe weather, severe thunderstorms and tornadoes," Johnson said. "In fact, in 2021, our office issued more tornado warnings than in any year [prior to that]."

Reason For Record Numbers Not Entirely Clear

There are potentially several reasons for the record-breaking number of tornado warnings, according to Johnson. "Methods are improving as far as detecting tornadoes, but also we have had a pretty active weather weather patterns the last four years."

This story also contains reporting by Nicole Rosenthal.

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