Dark Funnel Cloud Spotted Over Barnegat Bay: Reports

BARNEGAT BAY, NJ - Yet another funnel cloud was observed last week in Ocean County, according to a new video posted by NJ.com.

The footage, taken by 22-year-old Stockton University student Forrest Jennings and shared with NJ.com, shows a dark cloud swirling above the horizon south of Seaside Park.

Jennings told the Asbury Park Press that he shot a quick video of the storm with his Samsung Galaxy S23 and sprinted to his car.

You can watch the video here.

The National Weather Service said it has been sent the reports and is reviewing the footage. Mike Lee, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly station, told the Asbury Park Press that no tornado damage was reported in the area, but added that water-treading tornados are fairly common with storms on the coast.

Elsewhere on the Jersey Shore, twitter user @jackderkaiser saw a similar-looking spinning cloud near Seaside Heights at around 3:20 p.m. the same day.

“We were watching the storm roll across the bay and noticed a lot of movement in the clouds, and then we turned to the left and noticed the funnel cloud,” he said in a tweet. “It fizzled out shortly after. There was also a lot of lightning and small hail.”

Some footage of the funnel cloud we saw earlier over south Seaside Park. This storm was unwarned. #tornado #funnelcloud #N12Stormwatchers #njwx @News12NJ pic.twitter.com/oD1gk4bIxp
— jack (@jackderkaiser) July 18, 2023

A funnel cloud often precedes the formation of a tornado, but it’s unclear if or when the cloud touched ground (which would render it a tornado). If the funnel cloud touches water, it’s classified as a waterspout.

"There was some very weak rotation on radar at the time, but there have been no reports or pictures of any ground circulations," the National Weather Service said of Tuesday's storm, according to NJ.com. A request for comment from the weather service was not immediately returned.

A funnel cloud could alternatively be classified as a tornado if there is a debris cloud or dust whirl is visible beneath it, according to the National Weather Service’s forecast glossary.

Last week saw fierce winds in parts of Ocean and Cape May counties with gusts up to 40 mph; a flash flood warning was also in effect for Long Branch, Tinton Falls and Eatontown Tuesday evening.

Toms River and parts of the Monmouth County bayshore also saw over 2 inches of precipitation Tuesday, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection rainfall map.