Tornado Warned Storm & Possible Weak Tornado, Howell New Jersey, April 1, 2023

On April 1st 2023, the storm system that delivered a widespread tornado outbreak to the Midwest had moved into the Northeastern US. The trailing shortwave trough initially associated with the upper low over the plains provided lift and helped to reinforce the surface low as it passed to the north. At the surface a strong cold front blasted into the warm sector where temps had reached the 70s. Modest instability and steep lapse rates combined with very strong low-level shear to produce a complex of severe thunderstorms that pushed through New Jersey and southern New York. In New Jersey, greater instability and stronger shear was in place. Along the line of storms ahead of the front, several areas of rotation developed prompting tornado warnings. I intercepted a tornado warned section of this line, with a defined circulation on radar passes less than 1/2 mile to my north. Strong winds occurred in the entire storm, but as the circulation passed, winds suddenly ramped up to hurricane force for about 30 seconds and then quickly shifted from SW to NW. Significant tree and powerline damage, as well as minor structural damage was reported in the area mostly associated with a likely EF-0 or EF-1 tornado.

[@hudsonvalleystormchasing]

Dude this is fucking insane. Great work.

[@storm12weather]

Thanks! To be honest my positioning was probably a bit risky. I didn't expect the circulation to dip south at the last second. I'm lucky it didn't develop into a stronger tornado and hit me head on. This was also the first time I had legitimate fear while chasing. When the wind ramped up like that in 5 seconds I wasn't sure if it was going to stop or continue to increase and threaten to roll my car. 😅

[@hudsonvalleystormchasing]

@@storm12weather Yeah that’s totally understandable. Glad it all worked out and you walked away with some epic footage!

[@storm12weather]

@Hudson Valley Storm Chasing Totally worth it! Just makes me want to do it again. But I'll try to make sure my car doesn't end up as part of the damage survey. Lol

[@user-or4xl4gi1j]

Thank you very much storm 👍👍👍👍👍🌩️⛈️⛈️🌩️⛈️⛈️🌩️

[@donnaduhamel6004]

Intense.....

[@weathertracker2517]

Insane footage man!!! I was to far north and debated driving farther south and ultimately made the wrong decision to stay north by my house incase it ended up not doing much and by the time I realized it was doing a lot it was to late… just have to commit next time 🤷‍♂️

[@storm12weather]

I almost stopped for the northern end of the line but decided to keep going. With the rapid storm movement, I drove down the Garden State farther to the east because I knew taking the Turnpike was too far west and would likely let the storm pass me before I got south. But it was also a bit of luck. I've missed storms due to poor decisions but it's always easier to look back when hindsight is 20/20 and judge yourself on what you should have done. In the moment, it's not always possible to make the perfect decision.

[@weathertracker2517]

@@storm12weatheryea I have to accept the fact I'm gonna get many misses at times before I get a hit. And looking back on it was probably for the better I missed the jersey mess... imbedded strong tornado producing supercells that were rain wrapped and at dusk/night wasn't a ideal set up for a first chase and vary dangerous. Got to remember there will be many more chances to come!

[@storm12weather]

​@HudsonVallyWX You get better with experience too. The more you do it, the more you'll get a "feel" for certain setups. Even if you're well educated in meteorology, that and actually chasing are totally different. I'm sure you already know this as well, but keep in mind safety should always take priority, especially when it comes to driving, which is by far the most dangerous aspect of chasing.

[@barbarajeffries]

Wow, that was an impressive video of a strong storm. Has the NWS confirmed a tornado?

[@storm12weather]

Yes! They confirmed a tornado passed through part of Howell very close to this location. I'll have to wait for the final survey to see just how close I was. I believe it passed just to my north.

[@yongfeng1346]

That was a HP supercell storm beacause it had a lot of rain and it was a rain rapped tornado 🌪️

[@DynamicDuo795]

That it was. You can't see the tornado in the video where he marked it because it was completely rain wrapped.

[@celeno31]

😉😊

[@storm12weather]

Glad you enjoyed the video. 🙂

[@yongfeng1346]

Or maybe it was weak supercell