Mercer County tornado was only the 5th in February since 1950 in N.J.
LAWRENCE TOWNSHIP, N.J. (CBS) -- Prior to the tornado that weather officials say touched down in Mercer County on Tuesday, just four February tornadoes have happened in New Jersey since 1950, data shows.
Three of those happened on the same date - Feb. 2, 1973, when there were three tornadoes in Hunterdon County.
There were two F1 tornadoes that day and another F2 tornado.
The most recent February tornado was on Feb. 12, 1999, in Camden County. That one was also rated an F1.
In Pennsylvania, there have only been seven since 1950.
When tornadoes rarely hit New Jersey, they're often on the lower end of the scale.
There have only been three EF3 tornadoes since 1950, and never an EF4 or EF5.
The most recent EF3 tornado occurred in Gloucester County on Sept. 1, 2021, damaging multiple homes in Mullica Hill. The tornado tore through the South Jersey community after it spun up as part of Tropical Storm Ida. During that storm, a mother laid on top of her two daughters to shield them from the storm as the storm peeled their home apart.
What was Tuesday's tornado rated?
Officials with the National Weather Service were still investigating the storm damage Wednesday before they could determine the rating of the tornado.
Our NEXT Weather team projects it was likely an EF1, maybe a low-end EF2 tornado at most.
As the tornado approached East Windsor Tuesday afternoon, radar showed there was spin up to 105 mph as the storm moved through the area.
Tornadoes are rated on the Enhanced Fujita scale and assigned a rating ranging from EF-0, the least damaging, to EF-6, the most damaging.
Below, here are two tables showing how many tornadoes have occurred per year in New Jersey, sorted by rating.
The Enhanced Fujita scale was adopted in 2007.
