New Jersey Tornado Warning: Newark, Elizabeth, Plainfield

new jersey tornado

NWS Radar shows the storm that produced tornado warnings in New Jersey.

Tornado warnings were issued on the evening of May 28, 2019 for areas of New Jersey and New York City. However, the warnings have now passed.

“Per @NWSNewYorkNY, as of 10:30 PM the threat of a tornado has passed in the area of Staten Island. Expect residual thunderstorms,” the New York City Emergency Management Office wrote, referring to the National Weather Service.

“Tornado Warning continues for Staten Island NY until 10:15 PM EDT,” the latest update from the National Weather Service’s New York office said. It did not mention New Jersey. The alert right before that one had read: “Tornado Warning continues for Staten Island NY, Elizabeth NJ, Plainfield NJ until 10:15 PM EDT. The New York office handles weather for New Jersey.

An earlier alert from NWS did mention Newark. It said that the tornado warning would expire at 9:30 p.m. for that city. It read, “Tornado Warning including Staten Island NY, Newark NJ, Elizabeth NJ until 9:30 PM EDT.” You can see updated radar for the area here.

Forecasters said a tornado cell was moving just south of Newark, New Jersey. According to Pix11, Newark’s Public Safety Director advised residents: “Many streets may be flooded and should be avoided. Heavy rain and patchy fog are expected before 2 a.m. Storms may produce small hail accompanied by gusty winds.”

Despite the seriousness of the situation, some people couldn’t help joking about it on Twitter. This woman turned herself into Dorothy:

Here’s what you need to know:


There Were Flight Disruptions at the Newark Airport

Newark Liberty Airport wrote on Twitter that there were flight disruptions due to the weather.

“Weather conditions have caused EWR Airport flight disruptions. Please check with your airline to determine the status of your flight,” the airport wrote.

The airport status information for Newark airport reported just after 10 p.m.: “Due to WEATHER / THUNDERSTORMS, there is a Traffic Management Program in effect for traffic arriving Newark International Airport, Newark, NJ (EWR). This is causing some arriving flights to be delayed an average of 2 hours and 59 minutes.”

The site continued: “Due to WEATHER / THUNDERSTORMS, departure traffic destined to John F Kennedy International Airport, New York, NY (JFK) is currently experiencing delays averaging 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Due to WEATHER / THUNDERSTORMS, departure traffic destined to La Guardia Airport, New York, NY (LGA) is currently experiencing delays averaging 1 hour and 5 minutes.

Due to AIRLINE REQUEST, departure traffic destined to ALL airport will not be allowed to depart until at or after 10:00 UTC.

Due to WEATHER / THUNDERSTORMS, departure traffic destined to La Guardia Airport, New York, NY (LGA) will not be allowed to depart until at or after 10:15 pm EDT.”

The extended weather forecast from Newark airport read as follows:

The night of May 28: “Showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm before midnight, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms between midnight and 3am, then a slight chance of showers after 3am. Some of the storms could be severe. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.”

The weather in Newark, according to NWS, was then predicted to improve:

“Wednesday
Partly sunny, with a high near 77. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the morning.

Wednesday Night
A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Cloudy, with a low around 63. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.

Thursday
A slight chance of showers, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 84. Calm wind becoming southwest around 6 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Thursday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8pm, then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 8pm and 2am, then a chance of showers after 2am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 63. Southwest wind 5 to 11 mph becoming west after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.”