South Jersey Tornado Had 90 MPH Winds, Lasted About 2 Minutes: Experts

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — The winds that accompanied the F1 tornado that touched down in Gloucester Township Thursday peaked at an estimated 90 mph, the National Weather Service said.

In addition, the tornado touched down at 4:59 a.m. and had dissipated by 5:01 a.m., was 0.26 miles in length and had a maximum width of 60 yards, the National Weather Service said.

The map at the end of this story shows the Deer Park section of Gloucester Township, the part of the municipality that experienced the brunt of the tornado's impact, the National Weather Service, Gloucester Township Police Department and residents said.

"Quite a bit of tree damage happened" in that area, according to The National Weather Service's Facebook page.

"Numerous trees" were knocked down and some of them landed on cars in the Deer Park section, affirmed the Gloucester Township Police Department.

It appeared that five homes suffered tornado-related damage of varying intensity and that there were no injuries or deaths from the tornado, the police department added.

PSE&G crews moved to clear tree debris from power lines, according to the police department. The company's website indicated at 6:40 p.m. Thursday that fewer than a half dozen customers were without power. The website also said it was still assessing the situation before it could definitively say when those affected may have their power restored.

'Sounded Like A Transformer Blew Up'

At about the same time the tornado touched down, residents in and around Gloucester Township reported hearing loud noises that, with the benefit of hindsight, were likely the tornado itself or the impact of it.

One person who said she lived in the impacted area posted to the National Weather Service's Facebook Thursday morning that her "driveway [was] blocked, part of a tree on our car, one BBQ grill knocked over but the other did a somersault."

Another person posted to the same page who lived near the first poster that it "sounded like a transformer blew up twice this morning around 5 a.m." in the area where the tornado touched down.

Residents in nearby Voorhees and further away in Burlington County also posted on the National Weather Service Facebook page that they heard noises that might have been the Gloucester Township tornado. These residents' claims could not be verified prior to this story's publishing.

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