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National Weather Service Confirms Two Tornadoes Touched Down In Howell, NJ Saturday

HOWELL, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The National Weather Service has confirmed that two tornadoes touched down during a bout of severe weather in Monmouth County early Saturday.

The system barreled through the area around 7 a.m.

Thousands of homes and businesses lost power early Saturday when trees and utility lines were knocked down by the storms that contained heavy rains and strong, gusty winds. The storms also damaged several buildings and overturned some cars, but no injuries were reported.

The National Weather Service reviewed video shot at a Home Depot on Route 9 in Howell to determine whether or not a tornado touched down.

SEE VIDEO FROM HOWELL, N.J. BELOW (WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS PROFANITY)

In a post to Facebook, the Howell Police Department says the area around the Home Depot received "considerable damage."

"Two occupied cars were uplifted into one another. Clothing bins were tossed about, building facades were blown off, store fronts damaged, unsecured items were blown into mangled piles and trees were uplifted," the department said.

Aside from sporadic and temporary power outages, nobody was hurt in the pair of small twisters that touched down at 7:21 a.m. and 7:27 a.m. with maximum wind speeds of 75 miles per hour.

The NWS also says a tornado may have touched down in Burlington County.

At the height of the storm, officials say more than 283,000 customers in Monmouth County were without power, but service has mostly been restored.

(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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