STAFFORD TOWNSHIP — When the skies cleared above Manahawkin Baptist Church Tuesday after a tornado barrelled through, a section of mangled framing shaped like a cross sat perched near a gaping hole in the building's roof.

"It’s pretty amazing," said Doug Welbourn, the pastor of the church on Beach Avenue in the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township. "I don’t know if God did that or just the weather but it’s kind of an encouraging thing for a bunch of Christians."

The tornado ripped a two-mile path 50 to 100 yards wide through the Ocean County community just west of Long Beach Island at 10:05 a.m. Tuesday, weather officials confirmed last night.

The twister, which dissipated after five minutes, shattered windows, downed trees and power lines and tore off a large section of the church’s roof. Packing winds between 75 and 85 miles per hour, the tornado was rated an EF0, which is the weakest designation possible, according to Patrick O’Hara, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

It was the second tornado to hit the state this year. One touched down in Berkeley Heights in early July, causing extensive damage but no injuries.

New Jersey, on average, sees about three tornadoes a year, according to the state climatologist.

Nathan Didlake, the youth and worship arts director for Manahawkin Baptist Church, was downstairs working when the storm passed through.

He said the lights started flickering and then he looked outside and "all the trees were just bending over, it got super, super dark, and then [I heard] this blood-curdling sound."

He said as he ran upstairs to check on two women, he heard an "unbelievable crunching sound" as part of the roof peeled back.

"As it was happening, stuff was just flying everywhere. Windows were shattering," he said.

Luckily, he said, nobody was hurt. Neither were any of the employees of the Lighthouse Christian Academy next door that also sustained roof and water damage during the storm.

"It’s very devastating, but it’s just a building," said church elder Brian Kilcoyne, as he shoveled pieces of glass and drywall into a black garbage bag. "This is just a building and a church is made up of people."

Walter Drag, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said several storms in the state — including the one that passed over Manahawkin — were rotating, a sign of tornadoes.

"We had numerous storms that had rotation," Drag said. "There were numerous cells. It was a tough couple hours out there."

The storms dumped several inches of rain, knocked out power for thousands of residents across the state, closed roads and stranded motorists caught in rising floodwaters.

Long Branch police said they rescued a woman who tried to climb to safety on top of her car with her 9-month-old child. Floodwaters eventually engulfed the vehicle that was stuck near the Elberon train trestle, officials said, but the woman and child were rescued unharmed.

Flooding caused road closures in Ocean Township, Long Branch and Manasquan in Monmouth County, as well as parts of Gloucester and Salem counties. Flooding was also reported in Middletown, Neptune, Wall, Deal, Little Egg Harbor Township and other towns.

Manasquan Police Chief Elliott Correia said in addition to street flooding, the storm dumped water in several basements throughout town. On Marcellus Avenue, Correia said passing cars were pushing floodwaters up against the foundation of houses, aggravating the situation.

"It seems to be a repetitive thing ever since Sandy that the water has nowhere to go," Correia said.

The storms even caused trouble with the special primary election for U.S. Senate, as some voting booths in Burlington County had to be relocated when water seeped into polling places.

In Manahawkin Tuesday, Brittany Fredrickson cleared downed tree limbs from her property on Stafford Avenue. The 27-year-old said she heard rain, thunder and lightning and then "all of a sudden it was just a bunch of crashes, sirens, the fire whistle went off."

"It was scary," she said, "very scary. Because it’s not expected."

Star-Ledger staff writers Stephen Stirling, Seth Augenstein and James Queally, Rebecca Forand of South Jersey Times, Ashley Peskoe of NJ.com and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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