Area also hit by accompanying winds and thunderstorms
A cleanup of uprooted trees and utility poles, and the restoration of power, were left to residents and officials after a tornado touched down in Cinnaminson on April 1.
Warnings of potential tornados, strong winds and severe thunderstorms began in the late afternoon of what was a mild, sunny day. They showed that a line of severe thunderstorms had crossed the region and produced a number of tornadoes and wind damage.
The National Weather Service (NWS) confirmed that an EF-1 tornado touched down at 6:59 p.m. near the intersection of Riverton Road and Woodside Lane, where multiple trees were snapped and uprooted. It then traveled east-southeast toward Cinnaminson High school and Eleanor Rush Intermediate School, expanding across surrounding neighborhoods.
The strongest wind damage occurred near the intersection of Wynwood Drive and Locust Lane, where a majority of the roof covering was peeled off a single-family home.
The tornado ultimately traveled six miles in Cinnaminson and Delran, and ended at 7:03 p.m. in Moorestown, where minor tree and limb damage were observed near John Pryor Field. The tornado’s width was calculated as 600 yards and its estimated wind peak at 95 to 100 miles per hour.
The Cinnaminson fire department shared drone photos from a UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) on its social media page that showed extensive damage. Career and volunteer emergency crews handled more than 40 incidents in a four-hour span at an incident command post.
Before the tornado formed in Cinnaminson, neighboring Palmyra and Riverton experienced strong downburst winds that traveled a mile starting between 6:55 and 6:58 p.m. Their estimated peak was 90 to 100 miles per hour.
A swath of sporadic damage continued toward the Riverton Country Club, where numerous trees were snapped or uprooted and fell in an east-southeast direction, according to the NWS.
Along with the confirmed weather event in Cinnaminson, the NWS confirmed tornadoes in Mays Landing, Atlantic County; Crosswicks in Burlington County; Wrightstown Township and Newton in Pennsylvania; and Allentown-Cream Ridge in Monmouth County.
They also touched down in Jackson and Howell townships, Sea Girt in Monmouth County and Bridgeville-Ellendale in Delaware.
