Tornadoes · United States · New Jersey · 2016
EF0 tornado, Roxburg to Montana, New Jersey, July 14, 2016
From Roxburg to Montana, this EF0 tornado ran 2.8 miles across Warren County on July 14, 2016, touching down at 2:46 PM EDT and reaching 75 yards wide. It killed nobody.
The rating scale
Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The Enhanced Fujita scale rates the damage rather than measuring the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.
EF065 to 85 mphthis tornado
Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.
EF186 to 110 mph
Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.
EF2111 to 135 mph
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.
EF3136 to 165 mph
Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.
EF4166 to 200 mph
Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.
EF5over 200 mph
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.
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 record
- Rating
- EF0
- Date
- July 14, 2016
- Touchdown
- 2:46 PM EDT (18:46 UTC)
- Lifted
- 2:48 PM EDT (18:48 UTC)
- On the ground
- 2 minutes
- Path length
- 2.8 miles (4.5 km)
- Path width
- 75 yards (69 m)
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- County
- Warren County
- Touchdown point
- 40.790, -75.090
- Lift-off point
- 40.786, -75.047
- Record number
- 1607141246-01
What the Weather Service recorded
A trough of low pressure ahead of a cold front led to the development of several clusters of showers and thunderstorms. Some of these thunderstorms became severe producing damaging winds and even a tornado in Warren County. A 53 mph wind gust was measured at the Morristown Municipal Airport. Several thousand were left without power, mainly in Morris and Warren Counties.
A tornado touched down causing considerable damage to a barn. It picked up a trailer full of hay off the ground and damaged crops. The tornado then lifted as it crossed route 519 reaching Scotts Mountain. It touched down again on the hill moving uphill downing several trees and shearing the tops off along with taking down some fences. The tornado then lifted again and touched down further east on Summerfield Road which caused extensive damage to a house with trees piercing the roof in several spots.
From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.
The warnings
0 minutes of warning. NWS PHI issued a tornado warning for this county at 18:46 UTC, 0 minutes before the tornado touched down, in force until 19:15 UTC.
The county was under a severe thunderstorm watch, issued at 17:00 UTC and running to 20:40 UTC.
| Issued (UTC) | Expired | Product | Office |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16:00 UTC | 00:00 UTC | Heat Advisory | PHI |
| 17:00 UTC | 20:40 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Watch | PHI |
| 18:04 UTC | 18:30 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI |
| 18:29 UTC | 19:15 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI |
| 18:46 UTC | 19:15 UTC | Tornado Warning | PHI |
| 19:07 UTC | 19:26 UTC | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | PHI |
Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.
The forecast that day
The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Slight Risk. The outlook in force was issued at 16:23 UTC.
SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.
The surface observations
Allentown-Bethlehem (ABE), 36 km from the path, in the two hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Temp (°F) | Dew point (°F) | Wind | Gust (kt) | Pressure (mb) | Weather |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16:50 UTC | 180° 10 kt | 1011.5 | ||||
| 16:51 UTC | 88 | 74 | 180° 10 kt | 1011.5 | ||
| 16:55 UTC | 190° 7 kt | 1011.5 | ||||
| 17:00 UTC | 210° 7 kt | 1011.5 | ||||
| 17:05 UTC | 190° 7 kt | 1011.5 | ||||
| 17:10 UTC | 210° 12 kt | 1011.2 | ||||
| 17:15 UTC | 220° 11 kt | 1011.2 | ||||
| 17:20 UTC | 220° 8 kt | 1011.2 | ||||
| 17:25 UTC | 190° 8 kt | 1011.2 | ||||
| 17:30 UTC | 220° 9 kt | 17 | 1010.8 | |||
| 17:35 UTC | 200° 11 kt | 1010.8 | ||||
| 17:40 UTC | 200° 7 kt | 1010.5 | ||||
| 17:45 UTC | 180° 8 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 17:50 UTC | 190° 13 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 17:51 UTC | 91 | 72 | 200° 13 kt | 19 | 1010.2 | |
| 17:55 UTC | 1009.8 | |||||
| 18:00 UTC | 1009.8 | |||||
| 18:05 UTC | 1009.8 | |||||
| 18:10 UTC | 210° 12 kt | 1009.8 | ||||
| 18:15 UTC | 1009.8 | |||||
| 18:20 UTC | 1010.2 | |||||
| 18:25 UTC | 250° 19 kt | 1010.8 | ||||
| 18:30 UTC | 1010.8 | |||||
| 18:35 UTC | 80.6 | 69.8 | 320° 10 kt | 23 | 1010.5 | VCTS |
| 18:40 UTC | 300° 11 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 18:45 UTC | 320° 6 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 18:50 UTC | 340° 7 kt | 1010.5 | ||||
| 18:51 UTC | 84 | 71 | 330° 6 kt | 1010.5 | VCTS | |
| 18:55 UTC | 330° 8 kt | 1010.5 | ||||
| 19:00 UTC | 340° 6 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 19:05 UTC | 330° 6 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 19:10 UTC | 330° 5 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 19:15 UTC | 320° 4 kt | 1010.2 | ||||
| 19:20 UTC | 300° 4 kt | 1009.8 | ||||
| 19:25 UTC | 290° 5 kt | 1009.8 | ||||
| 19:30 UTC | 280° 8 kt | 1009.8 | ||||
| 19:35 UTC | 270° 6 kt | 1009.8 | ||||
| 19:40 UTC | 250° 8 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 19:45 UTC | 240° 8 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 19:50 UTC | 250° 11 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 19:51 UTC | 92 | 69 | 260° 12 kt | 1009.5 | ||
| 19:55 UTC | 240° 15 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 20:00 UTC | 250° 13 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 20:05 UTC | 270° 14 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 20:10 UTC | 240° 16 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 20:15 UTC | 250° 11 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 20:20 UTC | 250° 12 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 20:25 UTC | 250° 15 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 20:30 UTC | 270° 13 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 20:35 UTC | 280° 13 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 20:40 UTC | 270° 12 kt | 1009.5 | ||||
| 20:45 UTC | 270° 13 kt | 18 | 1009.5 |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 109 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 18:48 UTC.
Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track
Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.
What was reported nearby
Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.
| Time (UTC) | Report | Where | County | Remark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18:40 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Harmony | Warren, NJ | SEVERAL BUILDINGS DAMAGED. |
| 18:46 UTC | TORNADO | Lommasons Glen | Warren, NJ | EF0 TORNADO DAMAGED A BARN AND A RESIDENCE. IN ADDITION...THERE WERE NUMEROUS TREES DOWN WITH THE TOPS SHEARED OFF |
| 18:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Harmony | Warren, NJ | SEVERAL BUILDINGS DAMAGED. |
| 18:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | White Twp | Warren, NJ | A BARN WAS DESTROYED ALONG WITH WIRES AND POLES DOWN ON ROUTE 519. |
| 18:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | White Twp | Warren, NJ | A BARN WAS DESTROYED ALONG WITH WIRES AND POLES DOWN ON ROUTE 519. |
| 18:55 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Washington | Warren, NJ | SEVERAL LARGE LIMBS BLOWN DOWN ONTO VEHICLE. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. |
| 18:55 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Washington | Warren, NJ | WINDOWS BLOWN OUT OF A CHURCH. TIME ESTIMATED FROM RADAR. |
| 19:30 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Morristown | Morris, NJ | NUMEROUS TREES DOWN |
| 19:38 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | 2 S Morristown | Morris, NJ | DOWNED AND UPROOTED TREES ON WOODLAND AVE |
| 19:44 UTC | TSTM WND GST 53 | Morristown Muni Airport | Morris, NJ | |
| 19:48 UTC | TSTM WND DMG | Plainfield | Union, NJ | TREE DOWN AT INTERSECTION OF WOODLAND AND RANDOLPH AVENUE |
From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.
This ground now
The live radar over the trackEvery 2016 tornado in New JerseyEvery tornado in New Jersey since 1950Warnings in force in New Jersey nowThe forecast where you are
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.