Trees fall, streets flood in Haddonfield due to small but powerful microburst storm
HADDONFIELD – After booming thunder, pounding rain and punishing winds, some South Jersey towns have heard a different sound lately.
It’s the roar of chain saws and wood chippers.
A massive clean-up began after intense storms struck several South Jersey towns on July 4. The storms, known as downbursts, toppled trees, flooded streets and cut power in many neighborhoods.
“It was crazy,” said Dylan Kaplan, a resident of Roberts Avenue in hard-hit Haddonfield.
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“In 10 minutes, it went from fun rain with people playing outside, July 4th celebrations, to sheets of rain, to running inside, losing power, electric poles down, trees snapped,” he recounted.
The National Weather Service said downbursts also tore through parts of Cherry Hill, Marlton and Mount Laurel, as well as an area around Westville, Mount Ephraim and Brooklawn.
What happened in Haddonfield?
“We had a lot of old trees that just got snapped,” observed Kaplan, walking his dog Lincoln on a sidewalk lined with piles of thick branches and severed trunks.
At least one large tree still leaned against the front porch of a Roberts Avenue home on Thursday, July 6, its branches atop a pickup truck in the driveway.
“We’ve had folks where their garages were crushed, basements flooded,” said Kaplan.
Haddonfield’s storm, which hit around 5:45 p.m., was a microburst, a downburst that’s less than 2.5 miles across, according to borough spokeswoman Joana McDonnell.
“We’ve been talking to people who just didn’t know about it,” Kaplan said of its localized impact.
The National Weather Service recorded rainfall of 2.8 inches in nearby Cherry Hill, with unconfirmed estimates of up to four inches in Haddonfield, McDonnell said.
It hit just one day after the borough's fireworks celebration, which was held near Roberts Avenue at Haddonfield Memorial High School.
“The storm was also slow-moving, leading to significant damage,” she said.
Storm closed Haddonfield streets
Fifteen vehicles were stranded in high waters, and their occupants were rescued by borough police and firefighters, with assistance from Bellmawr and Pennsauken's Swift Water Rescue Teams.
Westmont and Haddon Heights fire departments also helped with calls in the borough.
No injuries were reported but flooding closed some stores in the business district, including at a mini-mall near the town clock on Kings Highway.
“During the storm, we had approximately 20 roads closed due to debris, trees, or wires down,” said McDonnell, who noted the streets and power were back in service Thursday.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email him at jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Microburst brings big problems to Haddonfield
