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New Jersey's Deadliest Tornadoes: A Look Back
23 Jul
Summary
- A 1835 tornado killed five people and damaged Manhattan.
- Recent tornadoes in 2021 were rated EF3 with 150 mph winds.
- Tornado reporting has improved due to technology since 1950.
New Jersey's history includes devastating tornadoes, with the deadliest known occurring on June 19, 1835. This twister claimed five lives and carried debris as far as Manhattan, also injuring forty others.
More recently, on September 1, 2021, the remnants of Hurricane Ida produced an EF3 tornado in Gloucester County. This storm, with winds reaching an estimated 150 mph, traveled over 12 miles, destroying homes and injuring two people. Earlier, on May 28, 1973, two F3 tornadoes struck Morris County, with one injuring twelve people.
Rutgers climatologists note that while tornado records have grown, especially in recent decades, this increase is likely due to better detection methods. Advanced technologies such as Doppler radar, cellphone cameras, and organized damage surveys have made it easier to document weaker, shorter-lived tornadoes that might have previously gone unrecorded, particularly when they occurred over unpopulated areas.
