It’s a Warm Storm
The sunny New Jersey afternoon with temperatures reaching the 70s was exactly what anyone from the Garden State would expect it to be: a harbinger of doom. Several parts of New Jersey were under tornado watches and warnings, according to the National Weather Service on Saturday, April 1.
A southwest wind in the afternoon turned the atmosphere into an unsettled, mass severe weather that threatened the entire region from Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley, to South Jersey’s suburban counties, and all across Delaware.
A tornado warning was issued in Camden County, Burlington County, and Philadelphia until 7:30 p.m. as Philadelphia, Trenton, and Camden were under severe storm warnings with wind gusts to 70 MPH.
Burlington and Mercer counties were under a tornado warning until 7:15 p.m., while parts of Browns Mills, Fort Dix, Hamilton Square, Marlton, West Freehold and White Horse were under the warning until between 7:30 and 7:45 p.m.
Meanwhile, Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Salem, Somerset, Sussex and Warren counties were under a tornado watch until 10 p.m.
The hazards associated with these thunderstorms are frequent lightning, severe thunderstorm wind gusts, hail, and a few tornadoes.
Winds feeding moist, warm air set the stage for storms featuring damaging winds, isolated tornadoes, and even some large hail.
The period of greatest concern is likely to end around 10 p.m. Saturday, but New Jersey is under a wind advisory through 2 a.m. Sunday.
There’s potential for power outages and downed trees or broken branches with those high winds.
“Showers and thunderstorms are beginning to move into the area. We are looking for any storm reports as storms move through such as downed trees, wires, or hail” said a social media post from, the National Weather Service Philadelphia station at Mount Holly. The agency warns people to leave their indoor location only when it is safe to do so.
A Special Marine Warning included the waters of the Manasquan Inlet and Little Egg Inlet, along with coastal waters from Sandy Hook to Manasquan Inlet and on to Little Egg Inlet until 9:00 p.m. That warning extended from the Delaware Bay waters and East Point NJ to Slaughter Beach DE.
A Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Vineland, Millville, and Bridgeton was issued until 8:15 p.m. and experts predected the storm will contain wind gusts to 70 MPH!