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Tornado watch in effect for 11 NJ counties, flash flood warning in Queens
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Nov 12, 2026 at 3:24 p.m. ET
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Fatih Aktas/Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
By
Giulia Heyward
Published Nov 12, 2026 at 3:24 p.m. ET
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A tornado watch was in effect for 11 New Jersey counties, and parts of Queens were under a flash flood warning until early Thursday evening.
The National Weather Service said that in addition to the possibility of a few tornadoes, also in Pennsylvania and Delaware, there was the potential of scattered hail up to the size of a ping pong ball and wind gusts reaching up to 70 mph.
The agency’s advisory about the tornado watch included areas as far north as Warren, Hunterdon, Somerset and Middlesex Counties, as well as several other areas in Central and South Jersey. As of mid-afternoon, the watch was in effect until 7 p.m.
The Garden State has seen an increasing number of tornadoes this year. So far, there have been five tornadoes in New Jersey, compared to two in all of 2025, and one in 2024, according to data from the New Jersey State Climate Office at Rutgers University.
A tornado warning had also previously been in effect for Southern Queens but expired after 2:30 p.m. However, the area was under a flash flood warning until 5:15 p.m. due to heavy rainfall in the area, according to the agency.
“We issued the warning as a potential heads up in case there are conditions that end up materializing with the heavy rain that is materializing over Queens right now, “ said David Stark, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service headquartered in New York.
Stark said that there wasn't a flash flood warning in effect for other parts of the city.
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Giulia Heyward
Giulia Heyward is a breaking news reporter on the Day-Of desk. She previously worked at NPR, as a breaking news reporter, and the New York Times, as a reporting fellow on the national desk. Her work has also appeared in CNN, The Atlantic and Politico. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or more securely on signal at 917-715-1458.
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