NJ’s wild storms may have spawned multiple tornadoes — here’s where crews are checking

☑️National Weather Service crew will survey Morris County after possible tornadoes

☑️Survey teams will inspect damage near Morristown and along Route 80

☑️An EF-0 tornado was confirmed in Cape May

The National Weather Service says a brief tornado touched down in Cape May and three in Morris County Tuesday, making them New Jersey's first tornadoes of the year.

A virtual survey determined that an EF-0 tornado on the Enhanced Fujita Scale touched down around 6:15 p.m. in Cape May Point with winds between 60 and 70 mph. Witnesses said a waterspout came ashore and quickly dissipated. It traveled 30 yards along Lincoln Avenue, Yale Avenue, and near the intersection of Oxford Ave and West Lake Drive.

Storm survey teams in Morris County determined tornadoes also touched down in the Stanhope and Mount Olive areas, Lower Berkshire Valley and Pine Brooks. Details will be released later Wednesday.

The storms were especially strong in northern and southern New Jersey, where upward of 2 to 3 inches of rain fell and what looked like at least two tornadoes were spotted. Survey teams will check an area around Morristown and a wide area along Route 80 between Parsippany-Troy Hills and Stanhope to determine tornadic activity. New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow says they may find several touchdowns.

"The teams will look at the pattern of the debris, structure damage and over a dozen specific damage indicators to determine what passed through the area. For example, crisscrossed trees would indicate rotational winds while straight-line storm winds will cause trees to fall in the same direction," according to Zarrow.

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Weird and colorful clouds

Flanders resident Julie Fischer told CBS New York she saw the tornado in Stanhope, which caused the sky to change colors. Trees fell onto cars along Route 206.

"There were a lot of weird clouds" in the sky, New Jersey 101.5's Bob Williams said from his Morris County home.

Areas to be visited by a National Weather Service tornado survey team following possible tornadic activity on Tuesday, July 21, 2026

Airport and power impacts

Trees and power lines were brought down by the storm but power outages from the storms for JCP&L, PSE&G and ACE were minimal, with 1,225 customers without power mostly in Essex, Morris and Cape May counties as of 8 a.m. Wednesday.

Newark had 52 flight cancellations while Philadelphia had 41 cancellations as of 8 a.m. Wednesday, according to FlightAware.com.

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