National Weather Service Confirms Tornado Touched Down In New Jersey
HARDING TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- The National Weather Service has confirmed that a tornado touched down in New Jersey early Friday morning.
Officials released their findings Sunday afternoon.
They say around 12:25 a.m. Friday, an EF-1 tornado touched down in Harding Township along Pleasantville Road before moving into Chatham Township, Madison, and Florham Park.
Storms swept through the area Thursday night and Friday morning, knocking down trees and causing major damage.
The Iuliano family says they witnessed Superstorm Sandy, but this post Halloween storm was something else.
"Much stronger than Sandy. We were home for Sandy. Much, much stronger than Sandy," Kim Iuliano said.
They were sleeping inside their home on Greenwood Avenue in Madison when they heard a bellowing roar of wind outside.
A massive tree right outside their front door was blown over.
"There was so much wind coming at me. I looked out the window and I kind of like step back… oh my God the windows are gonna come in on me. The house was almost shaking. It was pretty intense," Pat Iuliano said.
Madison was the town hardest hit.
At times the twister blasted winds up to 100 mph through the sleepy town. The tornado took down trees and power lines in its path.
"All of a sudden the rain starts coming in sideways. The wind had just really, really picked up. Then I see this tree out in the street there," Laura Costello said.
The tree narrowly missed her sister's home next door on Greenwood Avenue.
A tree smashed through another roof on Sherwood Avenue. The woman sleeping inside wasn't hurt.
No serious injuries were reported in the area. The mayor counted the town's blessing.
"The timing couldn't have been better," Mayor Robert Conley said. "It was Halloween six hours earlier."
