Berkeley Heights Mayor Joseph Bruno said he was told that the township was hit by a tornado during this morning's storm that toppled dozens of trees.



"It was a twister," Bruno said. He said he received the information during a meeting with National Weather Service officials this afternoon.

However, a spokesperson for the National Weather Service late this afternoon said that determination was not yet official.



"It was a small one, a category one," Bruno said he was told. He was not told how the weather service determined a tornado touched down in the township. Municipal officials were still meeting with weather service representative late today, he said.



Summit officials were also expected to meet with weather service representatives today. At least seven homes in that city were damaged by fallen trees, and at least two of the houses are uninhabitable, city officials said.

Peter Johner, JCP&L's area manager for external affairs, said 4,500 customers in Berkeley Heights were still without power this afternoon, after a tree limb came down on two lines.

The outage was the biggest caused by today's deluge, and one which Johner said work crews are trying to repair. Power should be restored to Berkeley Heights by midnight, he said.

Bruno said damage was confined to a quarter-mile area on either side of Springfield Avenue.

Summit officials said damage there occurred in the northwest section of the city, near the border with Chatham.

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