Severe weather damaged homes, knocked out power and prompted tornado warnings across parts of several states Thursday evening, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Virginia.
At least one tornado was confirmed to have touched down in New Jersey during powerful storms Thursday, as the National Weather Service (NWS) continues surveying damage across several municipalities.
An EF-0 tornado moved through Verona, knocking a tree onto a house and three trees on the Montclair Golf Club.

The National Weather Service in Mount Holly, New Jersey, warned of a particularly dangerous situation – or PDS – due to a tornado in Trenton at about 6 p.m. A PDS is typically noted in rare situations when long-lived, strong tornadoes are possible, according to the NWS.
The National Weather Service repeatedly said New Jersey was under tornado warnings in the late afternoon, as heavy rain battered the region. The National Weather Service warned of a particularly dangerous situation – or PDS – due to a tornado in Trenton at about 6 p.m.
A PDS is typically noted in rare situations when long-lived, strong tornadoes are possible, according to the agency.
Of the 12 tornado warnings issued in New Jersey, at least 3 are believed to have touched down. The most significant damage in the Garden State is suspected to have occurred in in the High Bar Harbor section of Long Beach Township, where there were reports of a roof being torn off one house and damage to other nearby structures.
New Jersey’s most significant damage is on Long Beach Island, and based on damage reports alone, a tornado is strongly suspected. In LBI, roofs were blown off multiple homes by strong winds that blew through the High Bar Harbor section.
Homes up and down Arnold Avenue were also damaged during the storm Thursday night. Trees and wires were knocked down, and boats and other debris were strewn across Antioch Road, Arnold Boulevard, Collier Avenue and Sunset Boulevard. Three residents in the LBI area were treated for lacerations, and several others were evacuated and taken to the Barnegat Light Firehouse for shelter. At least 35 houses were damaged, and dozens were without power.
Not to be shaken up by a mere weather event, Jimmy Buffett cover band, Jimmy and the Parrots, will perform at the township’s Firepit Friday event, a free concert.
The National Weather Service office in Mount Holly said it will conduct several storm surveys across the region today, Friday July 30, 2021.
Five survey teams are fanning out across the area covered by the NWS’s Mount Holly office, which covers New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
The surveys are in relation to several severe thunderstorms that moved through the area on Thursday, July 29th. The plan of where the survey teams will go is still being finalized. Once this has been decided, another public information statement will be released with further details.
If you have damage to report, please send National Weather Service an email at phi.skywarn@noaa.gov. The storm survey information will also be available on the National Weather Service website at http://www.weather.gov/phi
Preliminary reports show the central part of the state took the the main force of the storm on Thursday with multiple tornado warnings in Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean and Hunterdon counties.
North of Philadelphia, heavy damage was seen to a car dealership in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. Five injuries were reported in the area following the storms, according to the Courier Times.
The storms were part of the same system that spawned high winds and tornadoes that damaged homes and caused more than 130,000 power outages overnight Wednesday and into early Thursday morning in the mid-west.

A funnel cloud was spotted in Bensalem Pennsylvania, where the roof of a car dealership was lifted.
Officials believe tornadoes may have also touched down in Ocean, Mercer and Burlington counties.
Severe storms spawned tornadoes in at least three states, including Pennsylvania – and the National Weather Service will be surveying damage this morning in New Jersey. The fast-moving line of storms that triggered tornado warnings and flooding across parts of New Jersey and also confirmed tornadoes in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.
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