New Jersey residents were put on high alert Thursday afternoon after a fast-moving line of thunderstorms triggered flash flood warnings across six counties, with the National Weather Service warning that some flooding could turn “dangerous and life-threatening” for anyone caught on the roads.
According to the National Weather Service, flash flood warnings were issued around 1:20 p.m. for large portions of Middlesex and Somerset counties, along with sections of Hunterdon and Mercer counties. The warning was set to remain active until 5:30 p.m. A second warning followed roughly 15 minutes later, covering the northwestern corners of Gloucester and Salem counties through 5:45 p.m.
Officials say the storms had already unloaded 1 to 2 inches of rain in the hardest-hit areas by early afternoon, with forecasters warning that another 1 to 2 inches could fall before the system moves out. At the peak of the storm, rainfall rates were expected to hit as high as 3 inches per hour in certain pockets — a rate meteorologists say is capable of overwhelming drainage systems within minutes.
The National Weather Service noted that some storm cells were expected to repeatedly pass over the same neighborhoods, a phenomenon known as “training,” which significantly raises the risk of sudden, severe flooding even in areas that don’t normally flood easily.
Emergency alerts blared on residents’ phones across the affected counties as the warnings went out, though officials had not reported any flooded highways or stranded vehicles as of Thursday afternoon.
The situation carries added weight because it comes just three days after a separate storm system slammed central and southern New Jersey. That Monday storm triggered multiple water rescues and shut down numerous roads in Burlington, Camden, Monmouth and Ocean counties as water levels rose rapidly.
Ahead of Thursday’s storms, the National Weather Service had already placed Camden, Gloucester, Salem and northwestern Burlington counties under a flood watch starting at noon. That watch was later widened to include all of Burlington County plus eight more counties — Atlantic, Cumberland, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Somerset — as forecasters identified those regions as facing the greatest risk of dangerous flash flooding.
Authorities are urging residents in the affected counties to avoid unnecessary travel and never attempt to drive through flooded roadways.