Raymond Russell faced NWS down damage after an EF-1 tornado with maximum winds of 100 mph tore through Burlington County, New Jersey. The storm partly stripped the roof from his home along Old York Road in Chesterfield, and crews spent the day repairing poles and power lines.
Russell said, "I'm 84 years old. I've lived here almost 50 years. I don't know when it's done whether I'll stay," after the damage hit his home. His son, Raymond Russell III, said, "He wasn't hurt or worse. His car never got damaged. And he's got a place to stay."
Old York Road in Chesterfield
Cindy Monterroso said the roof was gone when neighbors walked over. She said, "We walked over there, the roof was gone. We were like, oh my God, what's going on? We had no idea what had happened," as the damage spread beyond one house.
A barn with equipment inside collapsed down the road from Russell's home, and multiple homes on Orchard Drive were damaged. PSEG crews worked throughout the day to repair damaged poles and power lines, which tells residents the utility work was active rather than finished when the storm survey was done.
National Weather Service survey
The National Weather Service surveyed the area the following morning and determined that the tornado path was about 1.5 miles long. Sarah Johnson, a warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said, "As was the case in Chesterfield today, we actually had a mix of both straight-line wind damage, as well as we did have a narrow path kind of in the Old York Road, Bordentown Chesterfield Road area. That was determined to be tornado damage."
Johnson also said New Jersey's sixth tornado of the year occurred in November, and tornadoes are typically seen in the spring and summer. Tara McCreedy said, "In between 4 and 4:15 was when it was the worst. Pitch black, so loud. The hail was coming down," which pins the worst conditions to a short window inside the broader storm.
The open question for Chesterfield is how many homes and customers were left without power after the damaged poles and power lines were repaired.
