Tornado Struck Burlington County Saturday Night, Officials Say

BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ — A tornado touched down in Burlington County Saturday night as a line of severe thunderstorms swept through the area.

The tornado was classified as an EF1 storm, meaning it was between 86 and 110 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service. It peaked between 80 and 90 miles an hour. No fatalities or injuries were reported.

It lasted six minutes and was classified as a “weak storm,” but it left much damage in its wake, much of which happened in a neighborhood north of Columbus-Jobstown Road, where one tree was completely uprooted, according to officials.

Two more trees were snapped, including one on Route 68, and several large limbs were snapped off and blown onto power lines on Monmouth Road near Tilghman’s Corner.

It touched down east of the intersection of Route 206 and Columbus-Jobstown Road just before 10:30 p.m. It was 7.9 miles long, and it was 800 yards wide. It dissipated before it reached the Ocean County line.

Springfield residents told 6 ABC the damage is not new to them. Bob Fredericks told the news station that three trees fell in his yard during this storm, and one fell on his house during a storm last year.

Storms moved into the area at about 4 p.m. Saturday and lasted well into the night. A Tornado Warning was issued for the area Saturday night, and officials said they were investigating the possibility of a tornado in the county on Sunday.

Between 7 p.m. Saturday night and 3 a.m. Sunday morning, Burlington County Dispatch responded to 295 emergency calls and 918 non-emergency calls. There were 503 police incidents and 111 fire and EMS incidents, according to county officials.

This was the third tornado in New Jersey that was reported this month. The other two were related to Tropical Storm Elsa, and touched down closer to the Jersey Shore. They struck Woodbine in Cape May County and Little Egg Harbor in Ocean County. Read more here: 2 Tornadoes Confirmed In South Jersey During Tropical Storm Elsa