Tornado rips roof off Springfield Township business, causes other damage

A tornado tore off part of the roof of a Union County office building with winds of up to 70 mph.

News 12 Staff

Aug 7, 2019, 8:52 PM

Updated 1,954 days ago

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A tornado tore off part of the roof of a Union County office building with winds of up to 70 mph.
The National Weather Service confirmed that an EF0 tornado touched down in Springfield Township Wednesday afternoon amid a powerful thunderstorm that crossed through New Jersey.
Witnesses tell News 12 New Jersey that that tornado came without warning and left just as quickly.
“You’re thinking where should I go? Where should I hide? And then it’s gone,” says mechanic Kenny Solomon.
Solomon says that he was working in the garage at the Sunoco Gas Station on Springfield Avenue when the wind suddenly picked up.
“The sky was just black as night. Trees leaning over,” he says.
The tornado knocked out power in the area and tore off part of the roof of an office building. It pulled power lines down off Route 22, damaged more trees and damaged the roof of the nearby Christmas Tree Shop.
Powerful thunderstorm causes damage, flooding across New Jersey
High winds also caused damage in other parts of the town, including at the home of Melissa Scala.
“I was hysterical. I couldn’t believe my eyes. My neighbors called me, they said ‘a tree fell on your house.’ I was a mess,” Scala says.
Photos: Damage, aftermath of storms that have moved through NJ this summer:

Wednesday’s storms also produced a large amount of rain, with flooding conditions reported all across the state.
Drivers had to be rescued from their cars in Jersey City. Cars became stuck in the water under the Pulaski Skyway near Routes 1&9.
A drainage canal in Woodbridge overflowed, causing several inches of water to spill out onto the roadways. Flooding was reported throughout most of the town.
Lightning struck a transformer in Princeton, causing it to explode. The blot caused the power lines to ignite. Route 206 was closed for a time due to the damage, but police say that it has since reopened.
The storm caused thousands of people to lose power throughout the day. Over 20,000 utility customers lost power during the height of the storm. Over 7,000 remained without power by Wednesday night.