Flash Flood, Ocean
- When
- July 16, 2:05 PM EST to 3:05 PM EST
- Where
- Ocean County, Waretown
- Coordinates
- 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in New Jersey, July 16, 1997
Thunderstorms dropped torrential rains within about 90 minutes over southern parts of Ocean County in Barnegat, Ocean and Stafford Townships. Four inches of rain fell in Barnegat.
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
- 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 dropped torrential rains within about 90 minutes over southern parts of Ocean County in Barnegat, Ocean and Stafford Townships. Four inches of rain fell in Barnegat. This caused considerable urban flooding as well as flooding of some of the creeks in Southern Ocean County. Lower Shore Road had considerable flooding in Barnegat Township.
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 16 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:02 UTC.
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
- Tornadoes and Flash Flood in Wisconsin, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Virginia, July 16, 1997
- Heat in Wisconsin, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 16 to 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 16 to 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Minnesota, July 16 to 17, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Wisconsin, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Lightning Strike in New Jersey, July 16, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Colorado, July 16, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Virginia, July 16, 1997
- Tornadoes and Hail in South Dakota, July 16, 1997
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, July 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: 5614492.