Flash Flood, Ocean
- When
- August 20, 3:10 PM EST to 6:30 PM EST
- Where
- Ocean County, East Portion
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Flash Flood in New Jersey, August 20, 1999
5 inches of rain within a two hour period during the late afternoon of the 20th across Eastern Ocean County. This caused considerable urban and poor drainage flooding on Long Beach Island and on the mainland.
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 with torrential downpours dropped a radar estimated 2.0 to 3.5 inches of rain within a two hour period during the late afternoon of the 20th across Eastern Ocean County. This caused considerable urban and poor drainage flooding on Long Beach Island and on the mainland. Flooding of some creeks also occurred on the mainland in Eastern Ocean County. The heavy rain coincided with the Friday weekend getaway traffic for Long Beach Island. Traffic was backed up from Ship Bottom to the Garden State Parkway exit on New Jersey State Route 72. On Long Beach Island the heavy rain flooded the base of the causeway. Eight Avenue was reduced to a single lane roadway. About 20 vehicles which attempted to drive through flooded waters suffered electrical system and corrosive damage. On the mainland severe flooding was reported in Stafford Township. Several vehicles had to be abandoned. Road flooding was also reported in Little Egg Township. Storm totals included 2.55 inches in Beach Haven and 1.37 inches in Harvey Cedars.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
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
- Tornado and Waterspouts in New Jersey, August 20, 1999
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, August 20, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in South Carolina, August 20, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Georgia, August 20, 1999
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, August 20, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in North Carolina, August 20, 1999
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, August 20, 1999
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, August 20, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, August 20, 1999
- Hail and Damaging Winds in Kansas, August 20, 1999
- Flash Flooding in New York, August 20, 1999
- Damaging Wind in Louisiana, August 20, 1999
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, August 1999
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: 5717994.