Forecasters Consider If Tornado Hit New Jersey
WHITE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Forecasters plan to examine photos and speak to emergency management officials as they try to determine if a tornado touched down in New Jersey.
About 6,000 homes and businesses are still without service Friday after storms rolled through on Thursday, leveling a barn and knocking out electricity to about 12,000 customers, including Gov. Chris Christie.
Tom Smith in White Township said he saw a twisting black cloud sweep across his Warren County farm before his barn collapsed.
Officials are trying to determine whether a twister or straight line winds are to blame.
The storms knocked down trees in front of Christie's Mendham Township home. Christie and his wife, Mary Pat, were seen surveying the damage late Thursday afternoon.
Downed trees and power lines were reported around the state.
Homeowner Kara Baltuch was home when a tree came down onto her house on Mohawk Lane in Livingston, New Jersey. The house did not sustain significant structural damage, but there was damage to the gutter and the cover over the front porch.
"All of a sudden I looked out the window. The sky was very dark. The trees were blowing really, really hard, and the power went out, the TV went off, and I heard a big bang – it sounded like a truck crashed. And I went upstairs and look out the window and find the tree down," Baltuch said. "I couldn't even get out the front door."
Baltuch said she called 911, and first responders ordered her out of the house amid worries of a fire since power lines were down.
Sheri Akelson of Livingston also had a tree come down on her property. She said the sky turned black and the winds started cranking, and soon afterward, down came the tree through the roof.
"I was afraid to go near the windows. I heard a huge, huge crash, and I heard glass break," Akelson said. "The tree went through the roof of the house, and then the water started coming in through the attic."
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