New Jersey is experiencing very rough weather today, with tornadoes, flooding rains, and thunderstorms with damaging winds and hail. Due to the inclement weather, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor in central New Jersey has announced they are closing the park due to the inclement weather. In an announcement to the public, Six Flags said they were closing the park due to the weather. “All admission tickets purchased for today will be honored any published operating day during the 2023 season. We look forward to welcoming you tomorrow, Monday, July 17th, at 11am”, an announcement from Six Flags said.
New Jersey residents woke to tornado alarms as Tornado Warnings were issued around 6am for many communities. Numerous severe weather advisories remain up throughout the state, including flash flood warnings for torrential downpours.
Rough start to the day in New Jersey! #NJwx https://t.co/NHeXr6L5b5
— the Weatherboy (@theWeatherboy) July 16, 2023
This isn’t the first time the central New Jersey theme parks were impacted by severe weather this year. In April, Six Flags Great Adventure closed due to tornado damage experienced around their park. The theme park opened for the season on April 1 but the park had to close early due to the arriving thunderstorms that moved through New Jersey at that time. The park remained closed until April 5.
Six Flags Great Adventure is an amusement park located approximately 20 miles southeast of Trenton in Jackson, New Jersey. The park, at 510 acres, is the second-largest theme park in the world following Disney’s Animal Kingdom. It first opened in 1974.
Tornadoes aren’t too rare in this part of New Jersey or even around the giant theme park. On June 22, 2011, a tornado touched down just south of Six Flags Great Adventure. The theme park itself saw substantial damage from that storm, with uprooted trees, broken tree limbs, and other debris littered throughout the park. There were no injuries reported in the 2011 storm and there were no injuries reported from the April storms.
Due to its location, Six Flags Great Adventure experiences all four seasons and the weather hazards that come with it. In prior winters, the theme park has been buried by blizzards and glazed over in ice storms. The park has also encountered significant floods from heavy rain and thunderstorm events in prior springs and summers.
