Forecasters Confirm 1 Tornado in New Jersey, Checking Others

The National Weather Service on Friday confirmed at least one small tornado touched down in New Jersey, as forecasters examined whether there were others that followed a line of thunderstorms that spawned twisters in eastern Pennsylvania.

An EF-0 tornado, packing winds of 65 mph, briefly touched down in Essex County. It severely damaged a home and uprooted trees in Verona.

Survey teams were also checking other damage left behind as the storms on Thursday crossed the Delaware River and moved across the state to the New Jersey shore.

Strong winds downed trees and power lines near Trenton and Hopewell in Mercer County. There also were reports of wind, rain and hail damage in Lakehurst and Barnegat Township in Ocean County and in Willingboro and Mount Holly in Burlington County.

There were no reports of injuries.

Forecasters issued 12 tornado warnings for New Jersey on Thursday.

New Jersey had already seen three small tornados in July, the weather service determined. There were two twisters in Little Egg Harbor in Ocean County and Woodbine in Cape May County as Tropical Storm Elsa moved up the coast and a tornado struck a portion of Burlington County on July 17.

The National Weather Service confirmed two tornadoes touched down Thursday in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.