New Jersey found itself under a barrage of severe weather Monday night as fast-moving thunderstorms triggered flash flood warnings, flood advisories and flood watches from the northeastern corner of the state down to its southern counties.
By 7:42 p.m., six counties — Atlantic, Bergen, Gloucester, Hudson, Middlesex and Passaic — were under active flash flood warnings, according to the National Weather Service. The worst of it centered on Bergen and Hudson counties, where back-to-back alerts kept residents on edge for hours.
A warning covering southeastern Bergen and Hudson counties went into effect at 7:05 p.m. and was set to last until 10:15 p.m. Between half an inch and 1.5 inches of rain had already soaked the region by the time the alert was issued, with forecasters warning that another 1 to 2 inches could fall at rates of up to 2 inches per hour.
Just north of that zone, a second warning was issued around 6:35 p.m. for northwestern Bergen and eastern Passaic counties, lasting until 9:45 p.m. That area had already seen up to 1.5 inches of rainfall, with more expected.
Atlantic County was hit hardest in terms of volume. A flash flood warning there remained active until 10:15 p.m. after local authorities reported 2 to 3 inches of rain falling by 8:45 p.m., with rates climbing as high as 3 inches per hour.
The flooding wasn’t just a forecast on paper. In Hammonton, several vehicles got stuck in standing water reported to be nearly two feet deep. In Wyckoff, a stretch of Cedar Hill Avenue near Route 208 had to be shut down after multiple power lines came crashing down — with footage showing the downed lines sparking a small grass fire along the roadside. In Washington Township, a snapped utility pole forced police to close part of Naughright Road.
Officials are urging drivers across the affected counties to avoid flooded roads and stay alert as more rain moves through the region.