Heavy Rain, Burlington
- When
- January 24, 7:00 PM EST to January 25, 5:00 AM EST
- Where
- Burlington County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood and Heavy Rain in New Jersey, January 24 to 25, 1997
A low pressure system developed over the lower Tennessee Valley the morning of the 24th and moved northeast passing through the eastern Great Lakes by the morning of the 25th. It tapped moisture over the Gulf of Mexico and Western Atlantic and produced heavy rain across Central New Jersey.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 6
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.
A low pressure system developed over the lower Tennessee Valley the morning of the 24th and moved northeast passing through the eastern Great Lakes by the morning of the 25th. It tapped moisture over the Gulf of Mexico and Western Atlantic and produced heavy rain across Central New Jersey. The heaviest rain fell from the evening of the 24th through the pre-dawn hours on the 25th. Storm totals averaged one inch to one and a half inches with the heaviest rain falling in Hunterdon County. The ground was still saturated from the heavy rains of the previous month and this led to river flooding in Somerset County as well as the usual urban and poor drainage flooding in low-lying areas in other counties. The Raritan River at Manville exceeded its 12 foot flood stage from 1115 a.m. EST through 5 p.m. EST on the 25th. It crested at 12.7 feet at 2 p.m. EST. Storm totals included 1.63 inches in Flemington (Hunterdon County), 1.58 inches in Lebanon Township (Hunterdon County), 1.39 inches in New Brunswick (Middlesex County), 1.32 inches in South Plainfield (Middlesex County), 1.28 inches in Hightstown (Mercer County), 1.2 inches in Blackwells Mills (Somerset County), 1.19 inches at McGuire AFB and 1.13 inches in Cherry Hill (Camden County).
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
5 heavy rain, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Rain, Camden
- When
- January 24, 7:00 PM EST to January 25, 5:00 AM EST
- Where
- Camden County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 39.804, -74.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Hunterdon
- When
- January 24, 7:00 PM EST to January 25, 5:00 AM EST
- Where
- Hunterdon County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 40.567, -74.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Mercer
- When
- January 24, 7:00 PM EST to January 25, 5:00 AM EST
- Where
- Mercer County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Rain, Middlesex
- When
- January 24, 7:00 PM EST to January 25, 5:00 AM EST
- Where
- Middlesex County, Countywide
- Coordinates
- 40.440, -74.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flood, Somerset
- When
- January 25, 11:15 AM EST to 5:00 PM EST
- Where
- Somerset forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 40.564, -74.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
- Flood
- Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Tornado and Hail in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Alabama, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornadoes in Kentucky, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Tornado in Tennessee, January 24, 1997
- Flash Flood in California, January 24 to 25, 1997
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, January 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: 5596714, 5596715, 5596716, 5596717, 5596718, 5596719.