“An EF3 Tornado Hit My New Jersey Office… With Me In It!”

On September 1, 2021, a rare EF3 tornado struck New Jersey. With top wind speeds of 150 mph and a maximum width of 1,200 feet, it was one of the strongest, largest tornadoes to ever hit the Garden State. Today, I’m going to tell you the story of the time an EF3 tornado hit my New Jersey office with me in it. More importantly, I want anyone reading this to pay close attention to tornado warnings no matter where you live and to have a plan for when potentially dangerous weather events strike.

New Jersey Tornadoes Are Somewhat Rare

The Garden State does not get hit by many tornadoes. According to Rutgers University, two tornadoes strike the state each year. Only 5 tornadoes have been rated F3 or EF3 since 1950. So, a powerful tornado was not high on the list of my list of weather-related worries at the time.

I underestimated the potential for dangerous weather in my area, and that was the first of a few mistakes I made that day.

To be fair, the storm that produced the EF3 tornado that struck my office was not a typical summer thunderstorm. The remnants of the powerful Hurricane Ida combined with another weather front on September 1, 2021, leading to incredibly strong, damaging storms.   

Still, with all the information available to me, I could have been smarter and safer.  

Leading Up to the Tornado

Every local news channel warned New Jersey residents that severe storms with the potential to spawn tornadoes were moving into the area that evening. At the time, I was working from a garage converted into a home office about 150 feet from the house I was renting.

Around 5:45 p.m., my wife told me to come up to the house to eat dessert with her family. However, I was in the middle of playing video games after work, so I put it off. I was on Discord talking with my brother-in-law when the storms started to arrive. Around 6:15 p.m., the tornado warning blared out of my phone.

That was when I made my second major mistake. I ignored a tornado warning. Why? Well, I had gotten a few of them in recent years, but the twisters never materialized. So, I almost saw it as my phone crying wolf.

Still, the wind and rain had gotten severe enough that my brother-in-law and I decided to get off the games and get away from the windows just in case. Seeing the terrible downpour outside, I figured it would be better to ride out the storm in the office rather than run through it up to the main house. I had better protection from the storm available, and I didn’t take it. We’re up to three big mistakes now. At the main house, everyone was scrambling to hunker down. The house has a basement and a much sturdier infrastructure than the garage.

An EF3 Tornado Hits My Office with Me in It

At about 6:18 p.m., I stepped away from my computer and turned on the television in another part of the office. I watched as the meteorologist told everyone that the radar seemed to indicate that a tornado was on the ground just south of where I lived. As I read the screen, I saw that Mantua Township was in the path of the storm. The tornado was going to hit in just a few minutes.

I watched the screen and thought about making a run for the house, but then the power went out. I waited too long. With all the lights out inside, I could see outside very clearly. The wind had picked up, about as strong as I had seen wind blow before. That was very concerning, and I wondered how well the office would hold up if things got really bad. No sooner than I had that thought, the wind got much stronger and blew the door open.

My first instinct was to slam the door closed. As I did, I got a glimpse of frighteningly powerful winds blowing rain and debris horizontally across the yard out front. Just when I thought the storm had reached its peak, the wind blew even harder. It was about that time I knew in my bones that this was not just a bad storm.

I sought the only cover I had, flipping my couch over on top of me. I could hear debris slamming into the side and top of the building, and I remember being so angry at my stupidity. After hearing a few particularly violent crashes, I knew that something had come through the roof. The wind started to subside, my ears violently popped, and things got quiet.

The Immediate Aftermath

I’d never witnessed the true power of nature until that tornado. The wind was unbelievable. I cannot imagine the strength of an EF4 or EF5, and I hope I never experience one.

The tornado passed across the property in less than a minute. I called my wife while I was under the couch, and I found out that everyone was okay, and that the tornado had somehow missed the house. The roof and siding took some damage and the fence was wrecked, but that was it. We still don’t fully understand the tornado’s path across our property. Our neighbor was driving home and saw the funnel cloud pass through our property, but I never got a look at it.

I rolled the couch off me and saw two new skylights in the garage ceiling. Next, I pulled open the door and saw that two huge boughs had snapped off the large tree outside and crashed into the roof. I had to push some branches out of the way before I could even get out the door. As silly as it is, I remember thinking that it smelled great outside from all the newly split wood.

I took a few minutes to walk up to the main house and met my family at the door. We were immediately met by a few of our neighbors who had run over barefoot because they heard someone yelling. We assured them we were okay and checked on family members. Everyone was alive and well, and that’s about all you can ask for when a tornado rips through a place.  

Cleaning Up After an EF3 Tornado

After I talked to our neighbor, a police officer came by to see if we were all okay. The police had raced to the area, and they blocked off the roadway because we had trees and powerlines down all over the place. Much to my annoyance, the road blockage didn’t stop people from driving by, taking pictures and videos, and clogging traffic.  

I was awake for about two days after the tornado hit. I knew that there was so much work to do on the property, and I was incredibly stressed by my experience. The next day was bright and sunny, and I remember thinking the day had no right to be that nice after what had just happened.  

Some of our neighbors had severe damage, and others still had power. When we finally left the property to drive into town, it was strange to see no sign of a tornado just a few hundred feet away from us.

Fortunately, we were not alone. Friends and family members poured in from all over for the next week. They brought food, chainsaws, and extra hands to help clean things up. Random students from a nearby school showed up with chainsaws and took apart a tree on the front lawn in about 20 minutes. Volunteer firefighters who had spent the night helping people also showed up to clear a path on the property.

After they were finished at our place, the volunteers sought out other areas to help. It was amazing to see a community come together like that.  

I began to realize how lucky we were as the stories came in from the area around us. Many buildings were destroyed, and others had a lot more damage than our home. Only two people were injured by the twister in our area, and nobody died. Even two years later, you can still trace some of the path the tornado took on Google Maps by following the downed trees.

Takeaways from My Story

The tornado was a horrible experience. However, I want to use that experience to shed some light on the mistakes I made so that other people do not make them. Here’s where I went wrong.

1. I thought that a strong tornado striking my area was practically impossible.
2. I did not listen to the tornado warning.
3. I passed up the opportunity to shelter in the main house with a basement.
4. I waited too long to take safety measures.

Don’t be like I was in this situation.  Here are a few dos and don’ts when facing a tornado.

Do:

• Do pay attention to your local weather forecasts and phone alerts.
• Do act immediately once a tornado warning is issued.
• Do have a place to shelter during a tornado warning. A basement or another interior room on the lowest floor away from windows is the safest place.
• Do have an emergency kit of food, batteries, medications, and information.

Don’t

• Don’t think that powerful tornadoes can’t happen in your area even if they’re rare.
• Don’t think that tornadoes can’t happen at a certain time of the year.
• Don’t ignore a tornado warning.
• Don’t pass up an opportunity to seek shelter from a tornado.

Check out the CDC guidelines on weather safety for a more thorough list. If you live in a place where tornadoes can happen, please stay prepared. Have a plan in place so that you don’t have to scramble under a couch and hope for the best as I did. Tornadoes are unpredictable, but a good weather safety plan can help save you in a life-threatening situation.  

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Rasica/Shutterstock.com