Flood and Heavy Rain in New Jersey, March 8 to 11, 1998

Name: Flood and Heavy Rain in New Jersey, March 8 to 11, 1998
Start: 1998-03-08T11:00
End: 1998-03-11T01:00
Location: New Jersey

March 8 to 11, 1998 · NWS PHI · 17 events in 16 counties and zones

Rain overspread New Jersey during the late morning and early afternoon on the 8th preceding a low pressure system's warm front. The heaviest rain fell during two periods.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 17 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: 17

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.

Rain overspread New Jersey during the late morning and early afternoon on the 8th preceding a low pressure system's warm front. The heaviest rain fell during two periods. One burst of heavy rain fell during the late afternoon and evening of the 8th. The second burst occurred during the morning of the 9th as a line of showers and thunderstorms moved through the region. Scattered pockets of heavier rain also affected the northwest part of the state during the afternoon and evening of the 9th. Storm totals averaged between 1.5 and 3.0 inches with the highest amounts falling along the coast and Sussex County. This caused some urban and poor drainage flooding, but was not heavy enough to push most of the major streams or rivers above bankfull. The one exception was the Rancocas Creek in Burlington County. Low lying areas along the creek started experiencing flooding during the mid day hours on the 9th as the runoff from the heavy rain was slowed by the incoming high tide in the lower part of the creek. Damage occurred to bulkheads and basements from Mount Holly to Southampton and also in Brown Mills along the north branch of the creek. Flood waters also crept into the backyards of homes in Lumberton near Burlington County Road 541. The North Branch of the Rancocas Creek at Pemberton did reach its flood stage of 2.7 feet the next day (the 10th) at 3 p.m. EST and remained above flood stage until 1 a.m. EST on the 11th. It crested at 2.71 feet at 7 p.m. EST on the 10th. Elsewhere, the unusually wet winter raised the water table above normal. This led to a rash of basement flooding reports, especially in Atlantic County. Storm precipitation totals included 3.13 inches in Freehold (Monmouth County), 3.11 inches in Red Bank (Monmouth County), 3.09 inches in Brick Township (Ocean County), 2.95 inches at the Marina in Atlantic City, 2.44 inches in Harvey Cedars (Ocean County), 2.34 inches in New Lisbon (Burlington County), 2.31 inches in Wantage (Sussex County), 2.30 inches in Montague (Sussex County), 2.25 inches in Absecon (Atlantic County), 2.14 inches at the Atlantic City International Airport, 2.12 inches in Stewartsville (Warren County), 2.10 inches in Atsion (Burlington County), 1.87 inches in Millville (Cumberland County), 1.86 inches at the McGuire AFB, 1.83 inches in Mount Laurel (Burlington County), 1.75 inches in Cape May Courthouse, 1.74 inches in Somerdale (Camden County) and Pottersville (Somerset County), 1.72 inches in Seabrook (Cumberland County), 1.64 inches in Cherry Hill (Camden County), 1.62 inches in Sparta (Sussex County), 1.52 inches in Lambertville (Hunterdon County), 1.50 inches in New Brunswick (Middlesex County), 1.47 inches in Wertsville (Hunterdon County), 1.43 inches in South Harrison (Gloucester County), 1.41 inches in Chatham (Morris County), 1.28 inches in Princeton (Mercer County), 1.21 inches in Trenton (Mercer County) and 1.08 inches in Verga (Gloucester County).

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

16 heavy rain, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Burlington

When: March 8, 11:00 AM EST to March 9, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Burlington County, Countywide
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Camden

When: March 8, 11:00 AM EST to March 9, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Camden County, Countywide
Coordinates: 39.804, -74.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Gloucester

When: March 8, 11:00 AM EST to March 9, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Gloucester County, Countywide
Coordinates: 39.717, -75.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Salem

When: March 8, 11:00 AM EST to March 9, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Salem County, Countywide
Coordinates: 39.577, -75.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Cumberland

When: March 8, 12:00 PM EST to March 9, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Cumberland County, Countywide
Coordinates: 39.328, -75.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Mercer

When: March 8, 12:00 PM EST to March 9, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Mercer County, Countywide
Coordinates: 40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Atlantic

When: March 8, 1:00 PM EST to March 9, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Atlantic County, Countywide
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Cape May

When: March 8, 1:00 PM EST to March 9, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Cape May County, Countywide
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Hunterdon

When: March 8, 1:00 PM EST to March 9, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Hunterdon County, Countywide
Coordinates: 40.567, -74.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Middlesex

When: March 8, 1:00 PM EST to March 9, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Middlesex County, Countywide
Coordinates: 40.440, -74.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Monmouth

When: March 8, 1:00 PM EST to March 9, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Monmouth County, Countywide
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Ocean

When: March 8, 1:00 PM EST to March 9, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Ocean County, Countywide
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Somerset

When: March 8, 1:00 PM EST to March 9, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Somerset County, Countywide
Coordinates: 40.564, -74.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Morris

When: March 8, 2:00 PM EST to March 9, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Morris County, Countywide
Coordinates: 40.862, -74.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Sussex

When: March 8, 2:00 PM EST to March 9, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Sussex County, Countywide
Coordinates: 41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Warren

When: March 8, 2:00 PM EST to March 9, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Warren County, Countywide
Coordinates: 40.857, -74.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Burlington

When: March 10, 3:00 PM EST to March 11, 1:00 AM EST
Where: Burlington forecast zone
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (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

Every storm in New Jersey in 1998 Every state in 1998 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, March 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: 5636680, 5636681, 5636684, 5636691, 5636683, 5636686, 5636679, 5636682, 5636685, 5636687, 5636688, 5636690, 5636692, 5636689, 5636693, 5636694, 5636695.