Coastal Flood and High Wind in New Jersey, December 29 to 30, 1997

A low pressure system formed to the lee of the Southern Rockies the morning of December 28th and moved east into the Tennessee Valley the morning of the 29th. A second low pressure system formed along the South Carolina Coast the morning of the 29th and intensified rapidly as it moved northward and became the main low pressure system. The low moved inland along the New Jersey shore the night of the 29th and entered the state close to the Little Egg Harbor Inlet and proceeded north along the coastal counties. By 7 a.m. EST on the 30th it was located in southern Vermont.This low pressure system brought heavy rain to a large part of the state, high winds to Monmouth and Ocean Counties as it was intensifying and some minor tidal flooding at the times of the evening high tide on the 29th. The heavy rain in most places coincided with the incoming tide and this exacerbated the poor drainage flooding along the coastal communities. In the New Jersey coastal counties, in Monmouth County, the heavy rain caused the collapse of a home in the Stonehurst Development in Freehold Township. The basement wall gave in and the home was deemed uninhabitable. The combination of the heavy rain and tides caused flooding and road closures in Highlands, Keyport, Monmouth Beach, Port Monmouth, Sea Bright and Union Beach. Union Beach was one of the harder hit communities with barricades all over town. In Hazlet, the heavy rain forced the closure of sections of New Jersey State Route 36. In Ocean County, the tides and heavy rain forced the closure of several main roadways and one traffic circle in Long Beach Township, Ship Bottom and Surf City. In addition to the heavy rain and tides, wind gusts reached around 60 mph and knocked down trees and power lines. Part of a 90-foot-tall tree fell on top of a unit of the Bayview Condominium in Highlands (Monmouth County). Numerous power lines were reported down in Long Branch (Monmouth County). GPU Energy reported about 6,300 homes and businesses lost power from Middletown Township in Monmouth County south through Toms River in Ocean County. Peak wind gusts included 61 mph in Brighton Beach and 57 mph in Harvey Cedars (both in Ocean County). Farther south along the shore, the rain was not as heavy (especially in Cape May County) and did not coincide as well with the high tide. The highest tides that evening included 6.9 feet above mean low water in Cape May, 6.4 feet above mean low water in Atlantic City, 5.2 feet above mean low water in Sea Bright and 3.1 feet above mean low water in Ship Bottom on Manahawkin Bay. Tidal departures were between 2.1 and 2.8 feet above normal at the times of high tide. Heavy rain also fell throughout a large part of the state, particularly during the evening of the 29th. Storm totals averaged around 2.00 inches and caused the typical urban and poor drainage flooding. Hardest hit were the Raritan Basin counties of Hunterdon, Middlesex and Somerset. Several streets "notorious" for flooding in those counties were closed, but the main stem rivers stayed within their banks. Storm totals included 2.8 inches in Lakehurst (Ocean County), 2.73 inches in Margate (Atlantic County), 2.1 inches in New Lisbon (Burlington County), 2.08 inches in Iselin (Middlesex County), 1.96 inches in Freehold (Monmouth County), 1.77 inches in Boonton (Morris County), 1.69 inches in Hightstown (Mercer County), 1.6 inches in Belle Mead (Somerset County) and Wertsville (Hunterdon County). Storm totals from Camden County south were generally under an inch.