Tornado Confirmed In Jackson, National Weather Service Says, Cleanup Continues

JACKSON, NJ — A tornado touched down in Jackson during Saturday's severe thunderstorms, the National Weather Service has confirmed.

The weather service's Mount Holly office announced the tornado confirmation and said additional details about the strength and the path of the tornado would be released later Sunday.

The confirmation comes as Jackson Township authorities and the Ocean County Sheriff's Department continue to urge people to stay off the roads as crews work to clean up trees and downed wires left in the storm's wake. Jackson Township authorities declared a state of emergency Saturday, and it remained in place Sunday.

Six Flags Great Adventure closed for the day because of the state of emergency and to deter people from driving through the area.

Nearly 9,000 customers remained without electric service in Jackson as of about 1 p.m. Sunday because of the damage caused by the storm.

"Emergency workers are still out assisting the public and will be getting to all the calls," the sheriff's office said.

"First and foremost we hope everyone is safe!" Jackson police said in a post on the department's Facebook page. "There are A LOT of reports of damage throughout the entire town. We are aware of power outages and the power companies along with DPW and county are doing all they can to clean everything up and restore power."

Jackson police said the following roads were closed as of 9 a.m.:

• West Commodore Boulevard between Cedar Swamp Road and Diamond Road
• North Cooksbridge Road between Rose Dr and Willow Drive along with parts of South Cooksbridge Road.
• A section of West County Line Road between Bennetts Mills Road and Villanova Drive.

"We ASK that everyone please stay indoors and off the roads so clean up can be completed safely. Please don’t venture out to assess the damage, we will take care of that," Jackson police said.

Jackson police urged residents to not call police about power outages "as we are aware and our dispatchers are fielding a high volume of calls."

There are no estimates of when power will be restored because of the extent of the damage.