The National Weather Service is sending teams of meteorologists to eight locations in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania to inspect the damage from Wednesday night’s devastating storms and determine how many tornadoes touched down in the region.
The teams are heading out Thursday morning and Thursday afternoon to sites in Bucks, Chester and Montgomery counties in Pennsylvania and to areas of Burlington, Gloucester, Mercer, Salem and Somerset counties in New Jersey.
They will survey the damage, analyze radar images and check out any video evidence to figure out if the damage was caused by straight-line thunderstorm winds or by rotating tornado winds.
Jason Franklin, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service’s regional office in Mount Holly, said four different teams are conducting the damage surveys and they will file their preliminary findings Thursday night or early Friday.
Areas marked in red are where survey teams from the National Weather Service will be inspecting storm damage to determine how many tornadoes touched down in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania during the strong storms generated by the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida.National Weather Service
Among the sites in New Jersey that are being checked, Franklin said:
- Mullica Hill area of Gloucester County, where widespread residential damage occurred and a tornado has already been confirmed
- Near the Burlington-Bristol bridge that connects western New Jersey to eastern Pennsylvania
- Along Interstate 295 between northern Trenton and Princeton in Mercer County
- The southern region of Somerset County near Mercer
- Between central Salem County and western Gloucester County near Route 42 and I-295
On Wednesday night, the National Weather Service confirmed the Mullica Hill tornado but received reports of funnel clouds that were spotted on radar or seen in social media video clips in several areas of New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Meteorologist Sarah Johnson said several reports of funnel clouds in other parts of Gloucester County — including Wenonah and Woodbury Heights — appeared to be associated with the same thunderstorm that moved through Mullica Hill, so it was likely the same tornado. Also, some of the funnel clouds that were captured on video may not have touched down on the ground, so they wouldn’t be classified as tornadoes.
A homeowner searches for her belongings after a tornado hit Wednesday night in the Mullica Hill section of Harrison Township, Gloucester County. Tim Hawk | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Active tornado year
Prior to Wednesday night, New Jersey already had 10 confirmed tornadoes this year. The state’s historical average is two per year and its record is 17 tornadoes, in 1989.
Overall, the Mount Holly office issued 16 tornado warnings Wednesday across its coverage area, which includes most of New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, eastern Maryland and Delaware. Prior to Wednesday, the weather service was just one warning away from tying a record for the most tornado warnings issued in one calendar year.
The previous record was 36, set in 2020. This year’s total jumped from 35 to 51 in one night.
While not every warning equates to a confirmed tornado, meteorologists say it’s an indication of how active the weather patterns have been this summer.
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com.
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N.J. weather: How many tornadoes touched down during deadly Ida storms? Experts surveying 8 locations. - NJ.com
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