Parts of New Jersey were placed under severe thunderstorm warnings Thursday evening after fast-developing storm cells swept through the region, bringing destructive winds and heavy rainfall that authorities say could trigger tree damage and sudden flooding.
According to the National Weather Service, a severe thunderstorm warning went into effect around 5:30 p.m. covering most of Gloucester County and the upper section of Salem County, remaining active until 6:15 p.m. the same day.
Meteorologists confirmed that storms tracking through South Jersey were capable of producing wind gusts up to 60 mph as they moved through the affected zones.
Earlier in the day, officials extended a flood watch across 12 counties in central and southern New Jersey, citing the risk of flash flooding in locations likely to receive intense, fast-moving downpours.
Forecasters cautioned that afternoon and evening storms had the potential to unload rainfall at rates of 2 to 3 inches per hour, with some storm systems repeatedly passing over the same locations — a weather pattern experts refer to as “training storms.”
That scenario played out across Middlesex, Somerset, and Monmouth counties, where several inches of rain fell within a short window, overwhelming roadways and highways. Emergency reports noted multiple vehicles left stranded in rising floodwaters.
Officials pointed out that many local drainage systems are not built to handle such a rapid influx of water, which significantly raised the flash flood danger throughout the day.
Compounding the issue, several regions of the state were already waterlogged following a earlier storm system on Monday that dumped multiple inches of rain. That earlier event triggered swiftly rising water levels, several emergency water rescues, and numerous road closures across central and southern New Jersey — with Burlington, Camden, Monmouth, and Ocean counties among the hardest hit.