Tornado Hits New Jersey Neighborhood During Severe Storms

On Friday, severe storms triggered an EF-0 landspout tornado in Lawrence Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, according to the National Weather Service. The tornado, which occurred around 6 p.m., had a path length of about a tenth of a mile and a width of 60 yards, with wind speeds reaching 80 miles per hour. The landspout downed several trees and flipped over a few cars in a post office parking lot. Unlike typical tornadoes, landspout tornadoes form from converging winds rather than supercell thunderstorms. In this case, outflow from storms in Bucks County collided with a sea breeze from the east, creating the spinning effect. This weather event precedes an anticipated heat wave expected to hit the region next week.