New Jersey, 1998

Flash Flooding in New Jersey, August 17, 1998

August 17, 1998 · NWS OKX · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Rain fell at rates up to 1 and 1/2 inches per hour. 69 inches of rain fell.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
3

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.

As thunderstorms moved over the same area, they produced heavy rain for long periods of time.The heaviest rain, which fell in a band from Southeast Union County northeast across Eastern Hudson County caused widespread flooding of streets, low-lying, and poor drainage areas.Rain fell at rates up to 1 and 1/2 inches per hour. At both Newark Airport and in Elizabeth, 2.69 inches of rain fell.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

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Event by event

3 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flash Flood, Union

When
August 17, 2:00 PM EST
Where
Union County, Southeast Portion
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.660, -74.309 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Essex

When
August 17, 2:00 PM EST
Where
Essex County, Southeast Portion
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.787, -74.247 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flash Flood, Hudson

When
August 17, 2:05 PM EST
Where
Hudson County, East Portion
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.731, -74.076 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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

More

Every storm in New Jersey in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, August 1998

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: 5660642, 5660643, 5660644.