NWS confirms 2 tornadoes touch down on LBI; peak winds of 115 mph

Two tornadoes touched down on Long Beach Island Thursday evening, flipping over boats, shattering windows and destroying homes.

News 12 Staff

Jul 30, 2021, 12:17 PM

Updated 1,147 days ago

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Two tornadoes touched down on Long Beach Island Thursday evening, flipping over boats, shattering windows and destroying homes.
The National Weather Service confirms that an EF-1 tornado touched down in the Cedar Bridge area of Barnegat Light, while an EF-2 tornado touched down in Waretown. The NWS originally stated that the Waretown tornado was also an EF-1, but upgraded the rating after observing the damage. Officials say that peak winds in that tornado topped at 115 mph.
A third tornado was confirmed in Verona, in Essex County. Two more were confirmed in Mercer County. The National Weather Services states that at least five tornadoes touched down in New Jersey overall. Damage from other storm cells that had triggered tornado warnings was being inspected.
Thursday’s storms caused damage all over LBI, leaving debris along Sunset Boulevard in the High Bar Harbor section of Long Beach Township. Utility companies were on the scene making repairs to restore electricity and water service.
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The roofs and siding were ripped off homes on Collier Road. Burst pipes also caused flooding to basements and garages.
“There’s a big hole in the roof where the deck was attached to the roof. So we have skylights in for the rooms now,” says resident Kathleen Stockman. “So that’s what they’re doing right now, boards on just in case it rains to just to protect it.”
Stockman says that parts of the roof and backyard furniture were found on neighboring streets.
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