Cleanup underway after EF-0 tornado touches down in Springfield, New Jersey
SPRINGFIELD, New Jersey (WABC) -- Cleanup work got underway Thursday morning after the National Weather Service said a tornado briefly touched down in New Jersey, damaging homes and bringing down trees and power lines.
The EF-0 tornado touched down in Springfield at 2:47 p.m. Wednesday as a round of intense storms moved through the region.
The twister was on the ground for four minutes. The NWS estimates its wind speed was 70 mph. Storm and flood warnings were in effect at the time of the touchdown.
The tornado scattered debris over a wide area, tore roofs off buildings and even tossed shopping carts clear across a parking lot.
There were reports of a giant tree that fell onto a home in Springfield and another tree came crashing down on a car with people inside, but they escaped without injury.
The tornado was part of the severe weather that hit the Tri-State area Wednesday, bringing drenching downpours, strong winds, lightning and hail.
There were numerous downed trees and power lines, and at one point nearly 20,000 customers in New Jersey were without power.
That number was down to less than 1,500 by Thursday morning.
Flash flooding led to a number of road closures.
In Perth Amboy, the police and fire department rescued two men stranded in floodwaters on New Brunswick Avenue.
Photo from Perth Amboy Police
The weather caused delays of at least four hours at JFK and Newark Airports, and three and a half hours at LaGuardia.
Click here for the latest watches and warnings from the National Weather Service.
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