MERCER COUNTY, NJ – Clean-up is underway in central New Jersey after a rare spout with severe storms during the heart of winter knocked over trees and damaged roofs of several buildings on Tuesday.
The severe storms struck just before rush hour, and enough rotation was detected on radar to issue a Tornado Warning for communities east of Trenton.
Officials in West Windsor Township said they were inundated by calls from residents after the storm alerting them to power lines being down and trees falling into homes.
Video taken by residents showed a dark lowering of clouds and even hail falling at a decent clip outside of Philadelphia.
There were no initial reports of injuries, but officials warned damage assessments were still ongoing.
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Less than an hour after the initial Tornado Warning, a trained weather spotter captured video of a waterspout off of Sea Girt Township, New Jersey.
The weather enthusiast said the funnel was faint and lasted only a few minutes while harmlessly over the Atlantic Ocean.
The National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, said it would conduct a storm survey on Wednesday to determine if the reported damage was from wind gusts or a tornado.
The path of the damage stretched from about Lawrenceville, New Jersey, to around Interstate 95.
NWS meteorologists will examine damaged trees and impacts to roofs and other buildings to determine a damage path.
If the NWS believes a tornado was responsible, team members will assign the twister a rating on the Enhanced Fujita Scale.
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Tornadoes in February are rare but not unheard of in the Garden State.
According to the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist, there have been only four reported tornadoes since 1950 during February.
The strongest was classified as an F-2 tornado that impacted Hunterdon, New Jersey, on February 2, 1973.