'Downburst' Wreaks Havoc On Cherry Hill: NWS

CHERRY HILL, NJ — A devastating storm that knocked over trees and destroyed homes in Cherry Hill late Saturday night has been identified as a “downburst” by the National Weather Service out of Mount Holly.

“Many areas saw some welcome rainfall last night as showers and storms rumbled through,” the National Weather Service said on social media. “Storms mainly produced little impact outside of heavy downpours in most of the places they occurred. However, a major exception was the area near Cherry Hill, NJ, where significant damage was reported.”

In a downburst, strong winds descend vertically through a storm, hit the ground and “fan out,” often picking up speed along the way. This resulted in significant damage throughout the town. It all happened shortly before 11 p.m.

“I have never seen anything like it before,” a Cherry Hill resident said on social media. “I thought for a minute it was a tornado.”

“It sounded like it, and the house/windows were shaking,” another replied.

Cherry Hill firefighters and EMS responded to more than 120 incidents during the storm, according to the Cherry Hill Fire Department. This including numerous trees and wires down, as well as a house fire.

They were assisted by Cherry Hill police, as well as Haddon Fire Company No. 1, Bellmawr Fire Department, Westmont Fire Company No. 1 and the Pennsauken Fire Department.

“Just a reminder when assessing storm damage today please use caution for possible live wires,” the fire department reminded residents.

Residents in Haddonfield and Haddon Township also reported power outages, but the effects remained throughout Cherry Hill over the weekend. Power was restored throughout the county as of Monday morning.

On Monday, township officials announced special expanded services to help those residents affected by the storm dispose of the higher volume of storm-related debris. From now until Friday, Oct. 11, residents in neighborhoods west of Kings Highway can call the Department of Public Works to schedule a special storm-related yard-waste collection.

During this period, normal weight and bundling restrictions will be relaxed, and township personnel will collect any yard debris residents can move to the curb. However, the township can't accommodate requests to remove trees or large limbs from private property. Personnel will only collect debris that has been placed at the curb, and cut to a size that can be handled by one person.

Residents must call 856-424-4422 to schedule a collection. Pickups will be scheduled on a first-come, first-served basis; due to the possibility of high call volume, crews may take several days to respond to a request. No requests will be considered after Oct. 11.

Yard-waste that meets the township's standard weight and bundling guidelines (cut to 4-foot lengths and placed in bundles no more than 50 lbs. each) may still be placed curbside for standard weekly collection.

Downburst wind speeds can reach 100 mph, which is as strong as a tornado. From a distance, it can even appear to be a tornado, according to weather.gov. The downburst depicted below is not from the weekend storm, but it is what a downburst generally looks like.