New Jersey, 1997

Strong Wind in New Jersey, November 27, 1997

November 27, 1997 · NWS PHI · 12 events in 12 counties and zones

A vigorous cold front moved through New Jersey during the early morning on the 27th and was accompanied by strong gusty winds. The strongest gusts occurred during two surges, one within a couple of hours of the cold frontal passage.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 12 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
12

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.

A vigorous cold front moved through New Jersey during the early morning on the 27th and was accompanied by strong gusty winds. The strongest gusts occurred during two surges, one within a couple of hours of the cold frontal passage. The second (and in most areas just as strong) surge occurred during the late morning on the 27th. At about 1120 a.m. EST, a 31-year-old woman was killed when she was struck in the head by a falling tree limb and knocked off her horse during a fox hunt on the Ellisdale Road property of Princeton Nurseries in Upper Freehold Township in Monmouth County. The strong winds pulled down tree limbs and this resulted in power outages to about 20,000 homes throughout the northern half of New Jersey. Some of the hardest hit areas included Newton (Sussex County) and Flemington (Hunterdon County). Peak wind gusts included 55 mph in Harvey Cedars (Ocean County) and at the McGuire AFB (Burlington County) and 53 mph in Belmar (Monmouth County) and Chatham (Morris County). While it was also windy in the southern third of New Jersey, the highest wind gusts were a bit lower, generally between 35 mph and 45 mph.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

12 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Strong Wind, Burlington

When
November 27, 1:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Burlington forecast zone
Coordinates
39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Eastern Monmouth

When
November 27, 1:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Eastern Monmouth forecast zone
Coordinates
40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Eastern Ocean

When
November 27, 1:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Eastern Ocean forecast zone
Coordinates
39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Hunterdon

When
November 27, 1:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Hunterdon forecast zone
Coordinates
40.567, -74.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Mercer

When
November 27, 1:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Mercer forecast zone
Coordinates
40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Middlesex

When
November 27, 1:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Middlesex forecast zone
Coordinates
40.440, -74.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Somerset

When
November 27, 1:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Somerset forecast zone
Coordinates
40.564, -74.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Sussex

When
November 27, 1:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Sussex forecast zone
Coordinates
41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Western Monmouth

When
November 27, 1:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Western Monmouth forecast zone
Deaths
1 direct, 0 indirect
Coordinates
40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Western Ocean

When
November 27, 1:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Western Ocean forecast zone
Coordinates
39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Warren

When
November 27, 1:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Warren forecast zone
Coordinates
40.857, -74.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Strong Wind, Morris

When
November 27, 1:30 AM EST to 2:00 PM EST
Where
Morris forecast zone
Coordinates
40.862, -74.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Strong Wind, Western Monmouth1997-11-2731FemaleUnder TreeDirect

What these are

Strong Wind
Non-thunderstorm winds below high wind criteria that nonetheless caused damage or casualties.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Jersey in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, November 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5626480, 5626481, 5626482, 5626483, 5626484, 5626584, 5626585, 5626586, 5626587, 5626588, 5626589, 5626590.