Heavy Rain, Passaic
- When
- September 11, 8:00 AM EST to 8:00 PM EST
- Where
- Passaic County, Charlotteburg
- Coordinates
- 41.034, -74.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Tornado and Heavy Rain in New Jersey, September 11, 1997
Lines of heavy showers and thunderstorms developed in a moist unstable airmass ahead of a slow moving cold front. The tornado formed in the Wonder Lake area just east of Germantown Road (off Route 23 North) and moved north.
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
- $53,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 OKX wrote it up.
Lines of heavy showers and thunderstorms developed in a moist unstable airmass ahead of a slow moving cold front. As the lines moved slowly north, a thunderstorm produced a weak (F1) short-lived (about 30 seconds) tornado in West Milford township.The tornado formed in the Wonder Lake area just east of Germantown Road (off Route 23 North) and moved north. It was confirmed by National Weather Service Meteorologists.High winds downed about 150 trees, two of which fell through a house and the Wonder Lake Clubhouse. At least 4 trees fell on and damaged cars. High winds also downed numerous power lines.Heavy rain also caused flooding of streets and poor drainage areas. Here are selected rainfall amounts for Western Passaic County:Charlotteburg - 4.83 inchesGreenwood Lake - 4.34 inchesWest Milford - 4.18 inches.
The radar
The Philadelphia radar (KDIX), 121 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:10 UTC.
Event by event
1 heavy rain, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Tornado, Passaic
- When
- September 11, 2:10 PM EST
- Where
- Passaic County, West Milford
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 0.3 mi
- Path width
- 50 yd
- Property damage
- $53,000
- Coordinates
- 41.130, -74.380
What these are
- Heavy Rain
- Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
- Tornado
- A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Hail in North Carolina, September 11, 1997
- Hurricane in Guam, September 11 to 12, 1997
- Flash Flood in Idaho, September 11, 1997
- Flash Flood and Flood in Utah, September 11, 1997
- Heavy Rain in New Jersey, September 11, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Florida, September 11, 1997
- Flash Flooding and Damaging Winds in Texas, September 11 to 23, 1997
- Heavy Rain in Pennsylvania, September 11, 1997
- Flash Flood and Hail in Arizona, September 11, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in Virginia, September 11, 1997
- Hail and Damaging Wind in South Carolina, September 11, 1997
- Damaging Wind and Heavy Rain in New York, September 11, 1997
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for New Jersey, 1997Warnings in New Jersey, September 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: 5613977, 5613976.