Tornadoes · United States

Tornadoes in New Jersey

188 tornadoes since 1950, an average of 2.5 a year, 37th of the 53 states and territories in the record. They have killed 1 people and injured 74. None was rated F4 or above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

    Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

    Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

  4. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

    Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

    Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

  7. Unrated

    The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

The deadliest in New Jersey

  1. F0, Burlington County, New JerseyOctober 27, 20031 killed

The strongest

  1. F3, Mercer County, New JerseyJune 24, 1960F3, 12.9 mi (21 km)
  2. EF3, Gloucester County, New JerseySeptember 1, 2021EF3, 12.4 mi (20 km)
  3. F3, Somerset County, New JerseySeptember 26, 1977F3, 5.9 mi (9 km)
  4. F3, Somerset County, New JerseyOctober 18, 1990F3, 0.5 mi (1 km)
  5. F3, Morris County, New JerseyMay 28, 1973F3, 0.4 mi (1 km)
  6. F3, Morris County, New JerseyMay 28, 1973F3, 0.4 mi (1 km)
  7. F3, Ocean County, New JerseyJuly 21, 1983F3, 0.2 mi (0 km)
  8. F2, Cape May and Atlantic counties, New JerseyAugust 27, 1971F2, 28.7 mi (46 km)
  9. F2, Salem and Gloucester counties, New JerseyJuly 14, 1960F2, 15.6 mi (25 km)
  10. EF2, Sussex County, New JerseyJuly 29, 2009EF2, 6.6 mi (11 km)
  11. EF2, Mercer County, New JerseyFebruary 21, 2023EF2, 5.8 mi (9 km)
  12. F2, Mercer County, New JerseyAugust 17, 1988F2, 4.5 mi (7 km)

The longest paths

  1. F1, Gloucester, Camden, Burlington and Ocean counties, New JerseyMarch 10, 196459.1 mi (95 km)
  2. F1, Camden and Burlington counties, New JerseyJuly 14, 195848.5 mi (78 km)
  3. F1, Burlington, Monmouth and Cape May counties, New JerseyAugust 10, 195239.3 mi (63 km)
  4. F2, Cape May and Atlantic counties, New JerseyAugust 27, 197128.7 mi (46 km)
  5. F0, Sussex and Passaic counties, New JerseyAugust 13, 199025.0 mi (40 km)
  6. F2, Salem and Gloucester counties, New JerseyJuly 14, 196015.6 mi (25 km)
  7. F1, Warren and Morris counties, New JerseyJune 29, 199414.0 mi (23 km)
  8. F3, Mercer County, New JerseyJune 24, 196012.9 mi (21 km)
  9. EF3, Gloucester County, New JerseySeptember 1, 202112.4 mi (20 km)
  10. F1, Middlesex and Union counties, New JerseyOctober 5, 198512.0 mi (19 km)
  11. EF1, Gloucester and Atlantic counties, New JerseyMay 16, 20258.1 mi (13 km)
  12. EF1, Burlington County, New JerseyJuly 17, 20217.8 mi (12 km)

The costliest

  1. EF3, Gloucester County, New JerseySeptember 1, 2021$5.0 million
  2. F2, Ocean County, New JerseyAugust 20, 1999$4.2 million
  3. F0, Union County, New JerseySeptember 7, 1998$1.5 million
  4. F1, Mercer County, New JerseySeptember 23, 2003$1.0 million
  5. F2, Monmouth County, New JerseyMay 27, 2001$1.0 million
  6. EF2, Sussex County, New JerseyJuly 29, 2009$800,000
  7. F1, Burlington County, New JerseySeptember 23, 2003$600,000
  8. F1, Union County, New JerseySeptember 7, 1998$550,000
  9. F1, Passaic County, New JerseySeptember 11, 1997$530,000
  10. F1, Burlington County, New JerseyJuly 27, 2004$500,000
  11. F1, Hunterdon County, New JerseySeptember 23, 2003$500,000
  12. EF0, Essex County, New JerseyJuly 29, 2021$330,000

The biggest days in New Jersey

  1. April 1, 20237tornadoes
  2. November 16, 19896tornadoes
  3. July 29, 20215tornadoes
  4. October 18, 19904tornadoes
  5. September 1, 20213tornadoes
  6. August 7, 20193tornadoes
  7. October 27, 20033tornadoes
  8. September 23, 20033tornadoes
  9. July 10, 19893tornadoes
  10. March 18, 19893tornadoes
  11. August 17, 19883tornadoes
  12. July 14, 19873tornadoes

Every year

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesF4 and above
20251
20241
202313
20222
20211210
20204
20199
20172
20162
20133
20121
20112
20101
20091
20061
200422
200371
20012
199921
19983
19972
19962
19955
19948
19935
19923
19911
1990711
1989152
198861
198793
19861
198528
19831
19821
19813
19801
197921
197721
19761
19753
19742
1973812
19713
19702
19671
196425
19622
196056
195831
19571
195648
19551
19522
195112

Every county in New Jersey

A tornado is counted once for every county its path crossed, so these add up to more than 188. Each county has a page of its own: every tornado that crossed it, year by year.

CountyTornadoesDeaths
Burlington County251
Ocean County20
Gloucester County15
Monmouth County15
Union County14
Mercer County13
Cape May County11
Atlantic County10
Cumberland County10
Hunterdon County10
Bergen County9
Camden County9
Morris County9
Middlesex County8
Warren County6
Somerset County5
Passaic County4
Salem County4
Sussex County4
Essex County3
Hudson County1
Bucks County1

Nearby

Warnings in force in New JerseyForecast for your townThe live radar over New Jersey

What this means

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

Sources

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.