F0 Tornado — Burlington, New Jersey

2003-10-27 · near Hainesport, Burlington, New Jersey

Wider weather episode

A weak tornado (F0 on the Fujita Scale) touched down in a wooded area between Marne Highway and the Holly Bowl bowling alley in Hainesport Township. It moved east and lifted just before crossing New Jersey State Route 38. The tornado snapped large tree limbs and tossed them. A nine inch wide limb was tossed about 100 feet and struck and killed a 77-year-old woman who was about to enter her vehicle in the Holly Bowl parking lot. She suffered massive head trauma and spinal cord injuries. The same limb damaged her and two neighboring vehicles. The tornado caused small damage to the bowling alley's roof, smashed a fence and toppled a couple of light standards. It was the first tornado related death in New Jersey since August 25, 1941 in Gloucester County. The tornado was on the ground for about a half mile and its maximum path width was 30 yards. The strongest speed of the tornado was estimated at 70 mph.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.9833, -74.8333)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5371873. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.