NJ’s first tornado of 2025: 9-mile track, up to 95 mph winds

Friday, May 16, 2025 was very warm across New Jersey. It was very humid. And the day turned quite stormy too.

One NJ Tornado Confirmed

A few days later, the National Weather Service confirmed that one supercell thunderstorm that day spawned a tornado, which scraped a discontinuous 8.6-mile path from Williamstown, Gloucester County to Collings Lakes in Buena Vista, Atlantic County.

The tornado touched down near Janvier Rd and Tuckahoe Rd in Williamstown, where tree and siding damage were reported. Widening to 300 yards across, additional trees were downed, fences were damaged, and a telephone pole was snapped through the Victory Lakes section of Monroe Township, Gloucester County. The rotation lifted after bringing down tree branches near Cloverdale Lane and Wiltshire Drive in Buena Vista Township.

It was rated an EF-1 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale, with a top estimated wind speed of 90 to 95 mph. No injuries or fatalities were reported, and official property damage estimates are not yet available.

According to the Glossary of Meteorology, a tornado is defined as a violently rotating column of air that extends from the base of a thunderstorm cloud to the ground. Also known as twisters and cyclones, tornadoes can cause severe to catastrophic damage, depending on size and strength.

Climatological Context

According to the NJ State Climate Office's Tornado Climatology of New Jersey site, this is New Jersey's first confirmed tornado in more than 11 months. The last one was a brief EF-0 storm on June 14, 2024 — the state's only confirmed tornado last year.

This was also the state's longest track tornado since the devastating Mullica Hill EF-3 during Ida on September 1, 2021, which also started in Gloucester County.

New Jersey has not had a tornado in the month of May since 2001.

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Gloucester County Gustnado

In addition, National Weather Service meteorologists surveyed damage and video footage from the area of Franklinville, Gloucester County. A very concentrated area of tree damage was caused by a gustnado, with estimated wind speeds as high as 105 mph.

A gustnado is a strong "swirl" of wind along the edge of a thunderstorm's gust front. Because the circulation is not connected to a mesocyclone at the base of the cumulonimbus cloud, it is not a tornado.

Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey. Check out Dan's weather blog or follow him on Facebook for your latest weather forecast updates.