Flash Flood, Cape May
- When
- August 20, 10:00 PM EST to August 21, 2:00 AM EST
- Where
- Cape May County, 4 mi N of Woodbine
- Property damage
- $500,000
- Coordinates
- 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in New Jersey, August 20 to 21, 1997
Torrential rain fell across southeast New Jersey as a low pressure system developed over the Delmarva Peninsula and slowly moved northeast across southern New Jersey. A series of thunderstorms developed along this low pressure system's frontal boundaries and trained or moved over the same areas.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $500,000
- 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.
Torrential rain fell across southeast New Jersey as a low pressure system developed over the Delmarva Peninsula and slowly moved northeast across southern New Jersey. A series of thunderstorms developed along this low pressure system's frontal boundaries and trained or moved over the same areas. Cape May County escaped the brunt of the torrential downpours, but Doppler Radar storm total estimates (which worked pretty well with this event) were between 8 to 10 inches across the northwest part of the county. Measured storm totals included 9.16 inches in Belleplain and 6.82 inches in Dennis Township. Rainfall amounts diminished drastically toward the southern end of the county. The storm total estimates were only between 1.0 and 1.5 inches in Cape May City. The torrential downpours caused back pressure for the streams emptying into the Tuckahoe River and subsequently caused 65 feet of Weatherbee Road (or County Road 548) to wash out. Part of County Route 550 in Dennis Township was also closed due to flooding. Repairs to Weatherbee Road cost $485,000.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Heavy Rain in Connecticut, August 20 to 21, 1997
- Flash Flood in New Jersey, August 20 to 21, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Utah, August 20, 1997
- Flash Flood in New Jersey, August 20 to 21, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, August 20, 1997
- Flash Flood in New Jersey, August 20 to 21, 1997
- Damaging Winds in Texas, August 20, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Oklahoma, August 20, 1997
- Tornado in Florida, August 20, 1997
- Damaging Winds in North Carolina, August 20, 1997
- Flood in Michigan, August 20 to 22, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Texas, August 20, 1997
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, August 1997
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: 5621734.