Trees, wires down in Cherry Hill amid downburst, 75 mph wind gust

CHERRY HILL — A line of thunderstorms that moved across New Jersey on Saturday night caused a downburst in one neighborhood, with a wind gust of 75 mph, lots of lightning and heavy rain.

Numerous trees and power lines were brought down in the brief but violent weather in the "Golden Triangle" area of the township, east of Route 295 between Routes 70 and 38 around the Cherry Hill Mall, according to the National Weather Service.

New Jersey 101.5 chief meteorologist Dan Zarrow  said the storms were actually not surprising, give the heat and humidity on Saturday.

"In addition to some heavy rain and wicked lightning, the downburst in Cherry Hill was quite dramatic. Think of a downburst as air (wind) falling straight down from a thunderstorm, and then spreading out radially as it hits the ground," Zarrow said.

Over 1,000 PSE&G customers in Cherry Hill were without power as of 2:15 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, according to the utility's outage map.

A transformer fire was reported off Kings Highway while downed wires closed off sections of Chapel Avenue and a large tree blocked two lanes on Route 38 near the mall, according to NWS reports.

One homeowner told CBS Philly that one tree crashed through the roof of a child's bedroom missing the crib by a foot or two.

Back in July, a downburst in Ewing with an 80 mph wind took down over 100 trees in a small area of the township in Mercer County.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

More from New Jersey 101.5