Power Outage in Matawan, NJ

A National Weather Service storm survey has confirmed a brief EF-0 |tornado occurred in Hazlet Township on the evening of Friday, May |20th just after 5 PM EDT.||The tornado began along Line Road on the border between Strathmore |Township and Hazlet Township where several large limbs were blown |off and a couple softwood tree trunks were snapped. The snapped tree |trunks caused collateral damage to utility poles and power lines |near the intersection of Sophia Drive. The center of circulation |continued east-northeast into a residential neighborhood between |Sophia Drive and Carlow Way where the most significant damage from |the tornado occurred. At least a dozen homes in this area sustained |cosmetic damage, including vinyl siding blown off, soffit damage, |gutter damage, and/or roof shingles blown off. The only structural |damage noted was due to a tree falling onto a home which caused some |structural damage to its roof. A few larger softwood trees were |uprooted in the residential area and several vinyl fence sections |were blown over.||The tornado damage path then became somewhat discontinuous as it |crossed the Garden State Parkway toward another residential area |along Park View Drive. A softwood tree sustained significant loss of |limbs and a couple others were uprooted nearby. A utility pole was |also damaged along Park View Drive. A few homes sustained minor |cosmetic damage near the intersections of Linda Place, Beers Street, |and Rutgers Street, then the circulation continued east-northeast |along Rutgers Street toward Bedle Road where several large limbs |were blown off a few trees. A final softwood tree was uprooted along |Bedle Road near Indian Hill Court where the surface circulation |appeared to have dissipated.||No additional damage occurred from this storm as it continued |through the residential area toward Route 35. Four utility poles |were pushed over or broken along Route 35 near the Jiffy Lube auto |shop. However, no additional damage occurred in this area, and thus |it has been determined that the damage to the poles was caused by |straight line winds.