Weather Expert: Tornadoes May Have Hit Morristown

A local weather expert said Thursday that a severe storm that came through our area around noon April 28 may have produced moderate-sized tornadoes.

Meterologist Steve Pellettiere, with ION Weather in Florham Park, said radar echos indicated that a couple of "Hook Echo Forms" had moved over Morris County, and specifically over Morristown, between noon and 1 p.m. on Thursday during the height of a storm that brought significant wind, rain, thunder and lightning to much of the region.

Those type of Hook Echo Forms, Pellettiere said, could indicate "Force 0" or "Force 1" tornadoes, which he noted are not like the tornadoes in the midwest that produce far more significant damage and danger to life. Those tornadoes tend to be classified between Force 3 and 5, Pellettiere said.

However, as of Thursday afternoon, he said it was still too early to tell if a tornado had indeed touched down locally, as the National Weather Service would first go out to inspect any possible sightings and officially determine within a day or so if there had been a tornado in the area.

Folks took precaution as the storm fell upon the area, with students at being assembled in the gymnasiums, said Jacob Byk, a senior at the high school and freelance photographer for Morristown Patch.

The shortly after 11 a.m. Thursday alerting residents of possible tornadoes, severe thunderstorms and "quarter-size hail" as a result of the storm. The tornado warning was lifted shortly after noon.