Lawrence Township tornado outbreak

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Lawrenceville Township Tornado Outbreak refers to a series of F1 tornadoes that hit Lawrence Township, in Mercer County, New Jersey on September 23, 2003. There were no fatalities, but there was widespread damage to homes.^[1]

Sample damage to a home caused by the September 23, 2003 tornado that struck Lawrenceville, NJ

The tornadoes were the result of instability in the atmosphere that remained following Hurricane Isabel (which was a tropical storm by the time it hit Lawrenceville - and the storm center was more than 250 miles to the west). The Tornadoes moved from the Southwest (Ewing Township area) along the Shabakunk Creek. As they made their way into Lawrenceville, the tornadoes followed a path parallel to Princeton Pike (slightly northwest to Princeton Pike). This would be the area with the most damage.

The tornado entered Lawrence near the Lawrence Shopping Center, proceeded north up Glenn Avenue and then crossed over to Princeton Pike. The funnel cloud then proceeded north parallel to U.S. Route 1, which was blocked by fallen trees. Several retail stores at the Mercer Mall and the Nassau Park retail center were damaged.

Tree damage on Glenn Avenue from the Lawrenceville tornado of 2003.

The Associated Press account of the tornado notes that there were at least 100 downed power lines in Lawrenceville. Much of the southern portion of the township lost power. PSE&G was able to restore power quickly for streets with underground power lines, but other areas of town were without electricity for two days.

Much of the damage in Lawrenceville has been because of the large number of trees in the town. Lawrenceville has been a Tree City USA member since 1996 and is very restrictive when it comes to cutting down trees. Following the tornadoes, residents were angered about the restrictive tree policy claiming that trees close to their homes made them vulnerable to the damage of this type of storm.