Tornado Touched Down In Madison: National Weather Service

MADISON, NJ - The post-Halloween storm that ravaged Madison early Friday morning snapping poles, downing trees and cutting power to large swaths of the community was caused by a tornado, according to the National Weather Service.

The National Weather Service office in Mt. Holly concluded the investigation into the storm and determined that Madison was impacted by an Enhanced Fujita 1 tornado with max wind speeds of 100 miles per hour. The tornado had a width of 150 yards and length of 4.9 miles.

And according to the report, lasted for five minutes.

Indeed, the estimated time of the tornado was 12:23 until 12:28 a.m., the report said.

The report said that the tornado touched down in Harding Township along Pleasantville Road. From there, the tornado crossed into Chatham Township and then into Madison Borough along Prospect Place and Gibbons Place. While numerous trees were felled, some falling on homes, the report notes that there was no significant structural damage and no reported injuries.

The tornado continued towards the campus of Drew University where uprooted trees fell and crushed several vehicles and it moved through downtown Madison. The storm intensified as it approached Greenwood Avenue as trees were snapped and uprooted and moved through Sherwood Avenue. It was here that the storm sent trees down that crushed the front porch of a home and another that landed on another home, the report said.

More trees were uprooted on Woodbine Road, East Madison Avenue, Pierson Lane and Insley Road before dissipating, the report said.

The storm damage left power outages in Madison until 8 p.m. Saturday night. The Department of Public Works is still working to clear and collect debris, officials said.

The Morris County Office of Emergency Management met with representatives from The Borough of Madison New Jersey, the Madison Police Department, Madison Office of Emergency Management, Madison Department of Public Works, Madison Electric Utility Department, as well as the New Jersey State Police Office of Emergency Management to help the team from the National Weather Service prepare their report.

"What was most impressive, not only during the storm but also throughout the cleanup and restoration process which has continued through the weekend, is how the Madison community handled the event," the Morris County Office of Emergency Management said in a statement.

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