ASBURY, N.J. (Warren County) – The National Weather Service in Mount Holly, NJ confirmed Tuesday that a tornado did not touch down on Monday in Asbury.
Microburst /straight line winds Monday caused damage and collapse of the barn in Asbury.
A microburst is a convective downdraft with an affected outflow area of less than 2 1/2 miles wide and peak winds lasting less
than 5 minutes. Microbursts may induce dangerous horizontal and vertical wind shears…which can adversely affect aircraft
performance and cause property damage. Straight-line winds are generally any wind that is not associated with rotation…used
mainly to differentiate them from tornadic winds, according to the National Weather Service.
According to Frank Wheatley, the Warren county public safety director and emergency management coordinator, “A funnel cloud was reported Monday but was not seen touching down on the ground.”
The storm came through Asbury at approximately 3:30 p.m. and had maximum wind speed of 65 mph. There were no injuries or fatalities due to the storm.
The damage occurred to a farm located on Smith Lane. In particular, a large barn on the Smith’s Farm collapsed and was
destroyed due to a sudden rush of strong winds. A review of the radar data, pictures, and a video indicated that a microburst, or
downburst of straight-line winds, occurred. This impacted the large barn at just the right angle (perpendicular), which resulted
in the barn being shifted some before completely collapsing, National Weather Service said in a news release.
In addition, nearby corn fields were pushed over some but not flattened. There was also tree damage in the immediate vicinity,
with large limbs torn from some of the trees. Some other damage included a grill that was blown over and power lines that were
downed. A small barn and a silo adjacent to the large barn however were not damaged, NWS said.
The presence of the corn fields pushed over some and other damage blown in the same direction indicated that a microburst, or
straight-line winds, occurred at this location. The peak winds within this microburst were estimated to be 65 mph, NWS said.
“The National Weather Service in Mount Holly would like to thank Warren County Emergency Management, storm spotters, and the
public for their assistance in the review of this event.”
By: Jay Edwards
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