UPDATED: NWS Confirms Tornado in Bridgeville, Greenwood & Ellendale Areas; One Person Found Dead
UPDATED – 04/03/23 – 10:40am – The National Weather Service has confirmed a tornado in the Bridgeville area during Saturday’s storm. The tornado occurred around 6pm causing damage in the Bridgeville, Greenwood and Ellendale areas and leaving one person dead in a collapsed home on Tuckers Road near Greenwood. The National Weather Service is still reviewing data for the Bridgeville storm – and several others in New Jersey – to come up with detailed information including the rating on the storm.
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The Greenwood and Bridgeville areas were struck with severe storms just after 6 Saturday night – with multiple sightings of funnel clouds. Emergency personnel responded to reports of building collapses from either wind or trees. There were also wires down and thousands without power. The National Weather Service will do a preliminary storm survey in the Bridgeville/Ellendale area today – they will also survey areas in Burlington and Monmouth Counties in New Jersey where there were also severe thunderstorms on Saturday. The National Weather Service will have a final assessment later this evening.
Emergency personnel report there was one fatality related to last night’s weather. That person was found in a collapsed home on Tuckers Road southeast of Greenwood. Crews continue to survey the areas in and around the Greenwood-Bridgeville and Ellendale areas. Travel may be hampered by debris on and along the roadways in the areas affected by last night’s storm and possible tornado.
As severe weather moved through Sussex County last night – thousands of Delaware Electric Cooperative members were left without power. DEC officials reported about 20 broken utility poles and other damaged equipment from the storms and crews have worked throughout the night to restore power. They hope to have power restored to the remaining members this morning.
Just as the storms moved into Sussex County around 6pm, there was a report of a 98mph wind gust about 2 miles south southeast of Bridgeville. A second round of storms moved into the area after 8pm and while not as much of tornado event – this round of storms also brought damaging winds and rain – and more power outages and damage
Last night’s severe weather closed the Bay Bridge for several hours because of high winds. The bridge was closed just before 10pm in both directions. The bridge did reopen a couple of hours later.
