Confirmed: EF2 Tornado With 115 MPH Winds Plowed Across LBI

Officials with the National Weather Service office in Mt. Holly say it was an EF2 tornado that plowed across portions of Long Beach Island Thursday night with winds as high as 115 MPH.

And that tornado was one of seven that was confirmed across the greater Philadelphia and central New Jersey areas during an outbreak of intense, severe weather Thursday.

Get our free mobile app

While an official report has yet to be released from the National Weather Service, The Long Beach Township Police Department said they received three 9-1-1 calls for assistance from the High Bar Harbor neighborhood at about 9:20 Thursday night. Responding officers found four utility poles, at least 35 houses (15 extensively), and multiple boats had been damaged. Three people were treated at the scene for lacerations. Authorities say the damage was centered around Antioch Rd., Arnold Blvd., Collier Avenue, and Sunset Blvd.

In addition to the tornadic storm over Long Beach Island, the other confirmed tornadoes in our region were as follows:

EF3 tornado in the Bensalem/Trevose, PA area (Bucks County) with peak winds up to 140 MPH. The most intense damage occurred at car dealerships and an adjacent mobile home park.
EF2 tornado near New Hope, PA (Bucks County) then across the Delaware River into Mercer County toward the Ewing, NJ, area with peak winds up to 115 MPH.
EF1 tornado in the Plumstead Township, PA (Bucks County) area with peak winds up to 90 MPH.
EF1 tornado in the Cedar Bridge, NJ area of Barnegat Township (Ocean County) with peak winds 100-105 MPH.
EF1 tornado in Windsor, NJ (Mercer County) with peak winds up to 105 MPH.
EF0 tornado in Northeast Philadelphia, PA (Philadelphia County) near the intersection of Grant Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard with peak winds of 60-80 MPH.

When asked about the storms, Townsquare Media's Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said about the storms, "I seriously haven't covered a severe weather outbreak like this since I worked in Oklahoma 13+ years ago."

With reporting from Townsquare Media's Dan Alexander.

LOOK: The most expensive weather and climate disasters in recent decades

Stacker ranked the most expensive climate disasters by the billions since 1980 by the total cost of all damages, adjusted for inflation, based on 2021 data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The list starts with Hurricane Sally, which caused $7.3 billion in damages in 2020, and ends with a devastating 2005 hurricane that caused $170 billion in damage and killed at least 1,833 people. Keep reading to discover the 50 of the most expensive climate disasters in recent decades in the U.S.

10 Subtle Yet Totally Relatable Ways You Know You're From Ocean County

Scroll through this gallery to see some ways you know you're from Ocean County without actually saying you're from Ocean County. Guaranteed you'll say "YUP" at least once!