Tornado whirls through Sea Girt – Star News Group

REPORTING BY CHRISTINE WALSH, GIANNA MEHES AND TOMMY WATERS

Severe thunderstorms on Saturday night resulted in several tornadoes across the state, including one that briefly touched ground in Sea Girt at the National Guard Training Center [NGTC]. The category EF2 tornado forced residential academy students on the NGTC campus to take protective measures while high speed winds tore the roof off of a supply and storage building but caused no injuries.

Students and staff at the New Jersey National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy, located on the training center campus, sheltered in place at the barracks on the property as the tornado made a brief touchdown at 7:42 p.m. before working its way through the grounds for approximately two minutes. 

According to Major Agneta Nurnam, public affairs officer for the New Jersey Department of Military and Veteran Affairs [DMAVA], the barracks suffered no damage and no one inside was injured.

“I think we were extremely lucky and fortunate that the buildings that were damaged were not occupied at the time and that [the tornado] lasted for such a short amount of time,” said Sea Girt Mayor Donald Fetzer. “We were just fortunate that, as far as we could tell, no one got hurt.”

The academy’s supply and storage building, however, met a less-fortunate fate. 

The damage survey of Saturday night’s storm activity released by the National Weather Service [NWS] reported that the “half-dome, wood frame, shingled roof” of the academy’s southwest facing building was lifted entirely from the structure and thrown eastward, scattering debris around a 250-yard radius. According to Major Lieutenant General of the New Jersey Army National Guard Amelia Thatcher, the building was in “sufficient shape to withstand normal weather conditions,” but was ultimately damaged due to the storm’s severity.

The survey’s data analysis found that Sea Girt’s tornado most likely formed from a “supercell” within a line of thunderstorms. 

The analysis also indicated that the tornado developed over Stockton Lake before progressing southeast and over the academy, where it wreaked havoc across the area with estimated peak winds of 120 miles per hour and expanding approximately 50 yards in size, completely uprooting one tree as it likely lifted on its eastward track across the parking lot and open grass fields.

The DMAVA confirmed in a press release that the training center sustained “significant property damage,” specifying that the roof of the supply and storage building had been torn off and its chimney completely collapsed, which was briefly caught on video by security cameras on campus.  

Classes at the academy aim to train and mentor “disengaged” youth to evolve into productive members of the community through a highly disciplined 22-week residential program, according to a DMAVA press release. The program will not be disrupted due to the storm’s impact, despite equipment loss from inside the supply building and the ongoing assessments of the campus being conducted by training center personnel.

“We are so thankful that all our personnel and cadets are safe,” Director of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Academy Earnest Williams reported in the DMAVA press release. “However, we lost a lot of materials and equipment for our program, such as the computers we had assembled for the cadets’ new computer lab.”

Isolated large tree damage found upstream of the training center was also noted in the damage survey, in addition to the athletic field’s bleachers, located 400 yards north of the academy building, that were reported to have been pushed roughly 40 yards from their starting point but ultimately not damaged. 

The NWS has determined, however, that there was not enough supporting evidence to specify this damage as a result of the tornado and is instead more likely due to a “gustnado,” or straight line winds of 70 to 80 miles per hour. 

TORNADO IMPACTS 

A severe thunderstorm alongside the Sea Girt tornado left scattered damage, including downed trees, utility poles and roofs in Wall Township as well as Manasquan, Sea Girt and other Monmouth County communities on Saturday night.

The damage survey released on Monday evening specified that this tornado was separate from the Jackson-Howell tornado, as it had previously been reported that morning.

Six other tornadoes touched down in the state: One in Burlington County, Cinnaminson/Moorestown/Delran, categorized as EF1 tornadoes, one in Jackson Township [EF2], one in Jackson-Howell Township [EF2], one in Crosswicks- Hamilton [EF1], one in Allentown-Cream Ridge [EF1] and one in Mays Landing [EF1]. EF1 tornadoes are categorized as having 86-110 miles per hour winds and EF2 tornadoes have winds of 111-135 miles per hour, according to the NWS.

The tornado also caused a house fire on Magnolia Street in Sea Girt Estates, which was struck by lightning, according to Wall Township Mayor Timothy Farrell. The entire Wall area experienced high winds, lightning and hail during the storm. 

Also on Saturday, a twin engine Cessna Citation X jet ran off the runway while landing at Monmouth Executive Airport at 7:38 p.m. No injuries were sustained.

POWER OUTAGES

At its peak, more than 4,500 customers in Wall and Spring Lake experienced power outages as a result of the Saturday tornado in Sea Girt, the NWS confirmed Monday evening. 

A representative from Jersey Central Power & Light [JCP&L] stated the majority of residents’ power has been restored to customers in the Sea Girt area, including in Wall Township, Spring Lake and Manasquan on Monday morning.

He said that the majority of the tornado and thunderstorm damage was “cleaned up within 12 hours,” on Sunday. Cleanup involved the removal of any live wires, trees and other debris before crews performed wire repairs. There was a road closure on Baileys Corner Road due to a downed wire and scattered debris Sunday, according to the Wall Police Department, which has since been reopened. 

The utility company restored all residents’ power by Monday night, according to JCP&L.

“Our crews have worked their tails off,” said Mr. Hoenig. “We understand the frustration — our workers live in these communities as well. We’ve got all hands working on this,” he said. 

SEA GIRT RESPONSE

Sea Girt Police Department Chief Justin Macko told The Coast Star on Monday that the police department had received a call at approximately 10 p.m. Saturday night regarding a roof collapse at the training center, located at 100 Camp Drive. Both the police and fire departments responded as well as emergency management services and the National Guard. They arrived to discover “heavy damage” to building 66/68 of the training center.

“The Borough of Sea Girt’s response was spectacular,” said Eric Sproesser, acting superintendent of the NGTC. “From the initial police response to the fire department’s cordon work, public safety was front and center. From the county level, too, the whole emergency management team has supported us.”

“I am grateful for the professionalism and leadership of our National Guard Training Center Team to include the Youth ChalleNGe Academy, the Borough of Sea Girt, the Monmouth County Emergency Management team, the first responders and our many partners around the Sea Girt training complex,” said U.S. Army Brigadier General Lisa Hou, Duty Officer and Adjutant General and Commissioner for the DMAVA. “They worked as a team and maintained a disciplined approach to uphold the safety of everyone involved.”

Mayor Fetzer commended the borough’s response to the emergency, including the fire department, the police department and emergency response team. “We were very fortunate as a town with all the first responders [who] responded very quickly, kept everything manageable and responded right up the chain of command, which we’re practiced to do,” the mayor said.

Chief Macko said the remainder of Sea Girt went largely unscathed, aside from a fallen tree that did not result in any structural or property damage and was taken care of during post-storm checks on Sunday.

Sea Girt residents who believe that they sustained property damage from the storm are encouraged to contact Tim Harmon at the Office of Emergency Management at tharmon@seagirtboro.com.

The NWS concluded their analysis of the Sea Girt tornado with a special thanks to both the borough’s and Monmouth county’s emergency management, the leadership of the Army National Guard and the state police for their help in completing their damage survey.

MANASQUAN DAMAGE

The April 1 storm also brought down a utility pole on 4th Avenue in Manasquan and caused damage to the Manasquan-Brielle Little League field [MBLL], according to borough officials. 

During the April 3 borough council meeting, Councilman Brian Holly described the damage but added that while some smaller trees and branches had been thrown about during the storm, no significant damage had been reported. 

The most notable impact was at the Little League field, where a bleacher had been ripped from its concrete base within the ground due to the wind. League president Tom Runge said thousands of dollars worth of repair work would be needed.

 “A crew of volunteers worked for hours on Sunday morning to clean up so that games could be played that day,” Mr. Runge said. “It was a great effort by our community volunteers to get the games played”

Councilman Brain Holly said that any trees felled by the storm on residential property would be the owner’s responsibility to remove, due to insurance liability issues. He advised residents to contact their own insurance carriers regarding possible claims and urged against the placement of fallen tree limbs at curbsides.