Elsa: Two Tornadoes Hit South Jersey, 100 MPH Winds in Somers Point
The National Weather Service has confirmed that two tornadoes touched-down in South Jersey early Friday morning as Tropical Storm Elsa was passing through the region.
Officials say at 2:40 AM, an EF-1 tornado with winds of 100 MPH hit the Ocean World Condo Complex in Woodbine, Cape May County. There, it uprooted two trees, destroyed a picnic shelter - which the roof of landed in a nearby pool, and patio furniture and other debris were scattered across a large area. Additionally, the National Weather Service says, the tornado, "...caused considerable damage to the complex's office and recreation building. The front door was blown out and ripped off of the structure and an exterior wall was pushed outward several inches." After leaving the condo complex, a fence was blown over and more trees were damaged, including part of a pine tree that landed on a house.
The tornado in Woodbine was on the ground for two minutes, it was 75 yards wide, and it traveled just under one mile.
As the center of Tropical Storm Elsa continued to move northward, at 3:33 AM, an EF-0 tornado with winds of 80 MPH hit a residential area along Sycamore Drive in Little Egg Harbor Township, Ocean County. The damage with this storm was primarily limited to trees and fences; some "cosmetic damage" was reported to some homes along Rosemont Lane and Harbourtown Boulevard.
This tornado was on the ground for about one minute, it was 110 yards wide, and the twister traveled a distance of 0.29 miles.
As for the damage along Route 152/Somers Point-Longport Boulevard, crews that surveyed the damage there say it was straight-line winds of 100 MPH and not a tornado that snapped seven utility poles at about 2:58 AM. Officials say the poles all fell in the same direction and no other damage was reported in the immediate area. The causeway between Somers Point and Longport is expected to reopen either late Friday night or early Saturday morning.
In all three storm-damaged areas, no injuries were reported.
Additionally, a 79 MPH wind gust was reported over the bay off of Sea Isle City and winds hit 75 MPH in Harvey Cedars on Long Beach Island. One to three inches of rain fell in a short period of time, which caused some street flooding.