New Jersey, 1996

Flash Flood in New Jersey, July 31, 1996

July 31, 1996 · NWS PHI · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Thunderstorms with very heavy rain, caused urban and poor drainage flooding as well as flooding along the Assunpink Creek in Trenton. m.

Where it happened

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.

Thunderstorms with very heavy rain, caused urban and poor drainage flooding as well as flooding along the Assunpink Creek in Trenton. Storm totals averaged 2 inches (2.13 inches was reported in Hamilton Square), most of which fell within two hours ending at 1130 a.m. EDT. The Assunpink Creek in Trenton reached its flood stage of 7 feet at 1130 a.m. EDT. At that point the creek had risen four feet within an hour. It crested at 9.13 feet at 4 p.m. EDT and was back within bankfull at 8 p.m. EDT.

The radar

The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 45 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 15:28 UTC.

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Event by event

1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Mercer

When
July 31, 10:30 AM EST to 7:00 PM EST
Where
Mercer County, Southern
Coordinates
40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flash Flood
Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Jersey in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, July 1996

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5562845.