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Robert Bennett, foreground, 25, of Gloucester City, and Lenny Mendola, 24, of Roseland, check out storm damage Thursday along the Freedom Field Blue Trail in Little Egg Harbor Township.
LITTLE EGG HARBOR TOWNSHIP — A storm Monday downed trees that blocked pathways of the Freedom Field Blue Trail, causing significant damage.
Trees could be seen uprooted along the trail after the storm that occurred before dawn.
Severe thunderstorm warnings had been issued in parts of South Jersey, but Little Egg Harbor wasn’t included in that.
This cluster of storms was also responsible for the largest January hail stone in New Jersey on record, coming in around the size of a nickel.
Radar data hints that a rotating storm — a storm with circulation — caused the damage, but the National Weather Service plans to make a final determination on the matter.
Robert Bennett, 25, of Gloucester City, Camden County, and Lenny Mendola, 24, of Roseland, Essex County, checked out the damage Thursday. Bennett said it’s hard to determine what caused the damage, whether it’s straight-line winds or a possible tornado.
“We’re not sure exactly how far back the damage goes and what the overall orientation is,” said Bennett, a meteorology student at Rutgers University who runs the site njweatherwatchers.com.
Mendola said evidence points toward a rotating storm.
“One thing we can say for sure is all the trees are uprooted, and we did notice there could be some type of like convergence pattern,” Mendola said. “So we don’t think that it is straight line (wind damage).”
Press Meteorologist Joe Martucci contributed to this report.
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, left and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, right check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Evidence points to a rotating storm having caused the damage in Little Egg, but the National Weather Service has yet to make a determination.
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, right and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, left check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, right and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, left check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, foreground, 25, of Gloucester City, and Lenny Mendola, 24, of Roseland, check out storm damage Thursday along the Freedom Field Blue Trail in Little Egg Harbor Township.
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, foreground and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, left and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, right check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, left and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, right check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, left and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, right check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, right and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, left check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Tuesday July 20, 2021. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
Robert Bennett, 25 of Gloucester City, right and Lenny Mendola, 24 of Roseland, left check out storm damage possibly a tornado brought significant tree damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trial in Little Egg Harbor Thursday Jan 20, 2022. Edward Lea Staff Photographer / Press of Atlantic City
See video and more photos of the damage in Little Egg at PressofAC.com.
Get the latest local weather, meteorologist Joe Martucci's 7-day forecasts, podcasts, and severe weather alerts.
I graduated from Rowan University in 2011 where I studied journalism. I covered local high school and college sports at the South Jersey Times and Vineland Daily Journal. I have been a sports reporter with The Press since July 2013
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Robert Bennett, 25, of Gloucester City, and Lenny Mendola, 24, of Roseland, check out storm damage to part of the Freedom Field Blue Trail in …
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Robert Bennett, foreground, 25, of Gloucester City, and Lenny Mendola, 24, of Roseland, check out storm damage Thursday along the Freedom Field Blue Trail in Little Egg Harbor Township.
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