TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- The National Weather Service has confirmed that at least three small tornadoes touched down in New Jersey as a line of thunderstorms spawned twisters in eastern Pennsylvania.
The National Weather Service says two tornadoes touched down in Bucks County on Thursday, including an EF-3 twister that hit in Bensalem and contained top winds of 140 mph. The tornado sent trees falling and debris flying, while thunderous downpours flooded streets and roadways.
The Courier Times of Bucks County reported one of the tornadoes damaged an auto dealership and a mobile home park.
Bensalem Police Public Safety Director Fred Harran said four people were injured at the auto dealership in Bensalem, and a fifth person was hurt at a nearby business. All injuries were considered non-life-threatening.
Anthony Perez, an employee at the dealership, said a weather alert sounded on his phone just before the tornado hit.
“At that point, we were looking for shelter,” he said. “Everything was in a flash.”
The service center at the auto dealership partially collapsed, wind tossed cars like toys and tore the roof off a showroom, reported WCBS 880's Sean Adams.
"The roof is gone! I mean, you see insulation hanging. It's just, it's destroyed. Cars are turned over, you know the building, it's just demolished," said Keith Brooks who stop by the Faulkner Mazda car dealership in Trevose to see the damage for himself.
In New Jersey, an EF-0 tornado, packing winds of 65 mph, briefly touched down in Essex County, the National Weather Service said. It severely damaged a home and uprooted trees in Verona, forecasters said.
Two separate EF-1 tornadoes touched down Thursday in southern Ocean County, in Waretown (Ocean Township) and Barnegat Township. Officials say both tornados had top winds of 100 to 105 mph. Meanwhile, survey teams are still checking other damage left behind as the storms crossed the Delaware River and moved across the state to the New Jersey shore.
Strong winds downed trees and power lines near Trenton and Hopewell in Mercer County. There also were reports of wind, rain and hail damage in Lakehurst and Barnegat Township in Ocean County and in Willingboro and Mount Holly in Burlington County.
Just after 6 p.m. Thursday, the National Weather Service issued an urgent warning to residents after a “large and extremely dangerous” tornado was located over Mercerville-Hamilton Square, near Trenton, moving southeast at 25 mph.
“This is a particularly dangerous situation,” the agency alerted. “Take cover now!”
There were no reports of injuries.
Forecasters issued 12 tornado warnings for New Jersey on Thursday.
New Jersey has seen three small tornados in July, the weather service determined. There were two twisters in Little Egg Harbor in Ocean County and Woodbine in Cape May County as Tropical Storm Elsa moved up the coast and a tornado struck a portion of Burlington County on July 17.
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