New Jersey, 2001

Damaging Wind and Lightning Strike in New Jersey, August 7, 2001

August 7, 2001 · NWS PHI · 2 events in 1 county or zone

A severe thunderstorm produced wind damage from Manahawkin (Stafford Township) eastward to Surf City on Long Beach Island. A large tree was knocked down in Manahawkin and several buildings suffered minor damage.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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  • 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
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 severe thunderstorm produced wind damage from Manahawkin (Stafford Township) eastward to Surf City on Long Beach Island. A large tree was knocked down in Manahawkin and several buildings suffered minor damage. Wires were pulled down on 13th Street in Surf City. Lightning from the same storm struck Beach Haven's water supply system and knocked out the pump. This forced the system and borough to rely on the remaining water in the tower for their needs. It was the second time this summer that the borough's water supply system was struck by lightning. It was repaired before the water supply ran out.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 7, 9:28 PM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 7, 9:28 PM EST, 2 hours 17 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
1028 PM EDT TUE AUG 7 2001

HAVE TAKEN OUT SHWRS/TSTMS FROM NRN ZNS AND THROWN IN SOME PATCHY
FOG OVERNIGHT. REST OF FCST REMAINS THE SAME.

RPW

--------------------------------------------------------------------

PREVIOUS DISC...

AFTER ANOTHER HOT AND RELATIVELY HUMID DAY...A WEAK SURFACE COLD
FRONT WILL BEGIN TO MOVE INTO THE NWRN PORTIONS OF THE CWA THIS
EVENING. WEAK INSTABILITY REMAINS IN PLACE...AND WILL KEEP SCATTERED
THUNDERSTORMS IN THE FCST THERE FOR THIS EVENING. THE FRONT APPEARS
TO DISSIPATE AS IT CROSSES THE REMAINDER OF THE CWA AND THEREFORE
WILL LEAVE MENTION OF PRECIP OUT OF REMAINDER OF ZONES. AS FOR
OVERNIGHT LOWS...FWC/S INDICATE DEW POINTS RISING BY ABOUT 5
DEGREES...AND UNLESS THE WINDS TURN SOUTHWEST WHICH APPEARS
UNLIKELY...THE GUIDANCE APPEARS TO BE TOO WARM.

H850 TEMPS ON WED INDICATE HIGHS SHOULD BE ABOUT A DEGREE OR TWO
COOLER THAN TODAY. WINDS WILL HAVE A DOWNSLOPE COMPONENT MOST OF THE
DAY...BEFORE SHIFING MORE SWRLY. 12Z FWC/MAV HAVE RAISED THE HIGH
ABOUT 3 DEG ON WED COMPARED TO THE 00Z RUN. H850 TEMPS RISE ONCE
AGAIN ON THURSDAY TO AROUND 20C...AND WITH MORE OF A SWRLY FLOW THAN
TODAY...HUMIDITY LEVELS SHOULD BE EVEN HIGHER. FWC/MAV BOTH INDICATE
DEW POINTS IN THE LOWER 70S FOR PHL (AS COMPARED TO THE MID 60S
TODAY). HEAT INDEX VALUES ON WEDNESDAY WILL STRUGGLE TO REACH
WARNING CRITERIA...BUT WITH THURSDAY LOOKING SO HOT AND HUMID WE
HAVE DECIDED TO EXTEND THE EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING INTO THURSDAY NOT
TO COMPLICATE THINGS TOO MUCH. THE WARNING WILL BE EFFECTIVE FOR THE
SAME LOCATIONS AS TODAY...WHICH IS MUCH OF SERN PA...CNTRL AND SRN
NJ (EXCEPT THE COAST WHERE A SEABREEZE WILL DEVELOP)...DE AND NERN
MD.

MUCH COOLER WEATHER WILL RETURN BY THE WEEKEND AFTER A COLD FRONT
CROSSES FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY.

.PHI...
DE...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING THROUGH THURSDAY FOR ZONES
      DEZ001>003.
MD...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING THROUGH THURSDAY FOR ZONES
      MDZ008...MDZ012...MDZ015...MDZ019>020.
NJ...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING THROUGH THURSDAY FOR ZONES
      NJZ009>010...NJZ012>013...NJZ015>023.
PA...EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING THROUGH THURSDAY FOR ZONES
      PAZ067>071.
MARINE...NONE.

JAQ

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 31 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 04:42 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Ocean

When
August 7, 11:45 PM EST
Where
Ocean County, Manahawkin
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
39.700, -74.250

Lightning, Ocean

When
August 7, 11:45 PM EST
Where
Ocean County, Beach Haven
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Lightning
A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Jersey in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, August 2001

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: 5266690, 5266691.