UPDATE: 'Microburst' With Tornado-Force Winds Landed In New Jersey: NWS

The National Weather Service says a microburst with tornado-force winds struck New Jersey in the middle of a wicked weekend of storms.

The National Weather Service confirmed a microburst with 85-mph winds - strong enough for a weak tornado - landed near Bridgeton in Cumberland County on Saturday.

The NWS, in a report, said the damage was mostly concentrated on one street, with numerous trees sheared off and some uprooted. Some trees were in excess of 2 feet in diameter, and several power poles and trees fell over.

A microburst is a convective downdraft with an affected outflow area of less than 2 1/2 miles wide, with peak winds lasting less than 5 minutes. Microbursts may induce dangerous horizontal and vertical wind shears.

The NWS says it sent a team to investigate areas that were hardest hit by a Saturday and Sunday system that produced a heavy thunderstorms and near hurricane-force winds.

The team inspected damage in Cumberland County that was reported to see if there is evidence that it could have been caused by a tornado or a microburst on Saturday night.

Thousands of homes lost power as a result of the powerful winds that brought down trees and wires throughout New Jersey on Saturday and early Sunday. Wind gusts of up to 71 to 74 mph were recorded throughout the state, according to the National Weather Service.

The downed wires and trees caused road closures in some areas. Wall Township police reported Route 34 was closed at the Garden State Parkway in both directions; reports said the closure was due to downed wires. Route 34 reopened in the late afternoon Sunday.

Many people captured the damage in a series of Twitter posts:

Here is a video:

Bunnies survived:

Photo courtesy of marc carpenter‏@mcadehaven