[imagesource: Facebook / Mark Kobylinski]

An ominous black cloud was approaching Mark Kobylinksi’s house, carrying with it the EF-3 tornado that tore across Mullica Hill, New Jersey, last week.

Kobylinksi stood rapt with his camera in hand, on his back deck, watching as the nightmare drew closer and closer.

The tornado was a remnant of Hurricane Ida, which raged through the US’s northeast last week.

It brought with it intense flooding and violent winds of up to 240 kilometres per hour, the National Weather Service later said.

Kobylinksi managed to shoot a three-minute video, which he uploaded to Facebook, of the moment the tornado hit, forcing him into the basement of his house for safety, with his dog following close behind.

The video also shows the extent of the damage to his home and neighbourhood, which Yahoo! reports was extensive.

Kobylinski emerged just in time to see the tornado barrelling away as he looked through a shattered window near his front door.

Watch the full scene unfold, with the tornado striking his house from the two-minute mark:

Too terrible.

You can hear how fraught he is by his heavy breathing, which continues as he surveys the damage to his home and neighbourhood.

Besides his own windows being shattered, it appeared as though the house across the street had its roof ripped off.

But the damage was perhaps worse in other parts of the country:

The EF-3 tornado that hit Mullica Hill is one of seven tornados that swept New Jersey. It obliterated several homes in Mullica Hill neighbourhoods, and nearly destroyed one of the state’s largest dairy farms, ripping apart silos and trapping hundreds of cows.

At least 25 people have died in New Jersey in the tragic aftermath of Hurricane Ida, many of whom perished in their cars while stuck in flash floods.

Per NJ News, New Jersey typically averages around two tornadoes a year, but this one brought the state’s tornado total to 13 for 2021.

Experts say things are only going to get worse, for as the planet warms, there will be hotter, more humid air, which offers the necessary energy to generate bigger and more frequent tornadoes.

[sources:yahoo&nj]