Drought in New Jersey, January 1, 1999

Name: Drought in New Jersey, January 1, 1999
Start: 1999-01-01T00:00
End: 1999-01-01T23:59
Location: New Jersey

January 1, 1999 · NWS PHI · 20 events in 20 counties and zones

January 1999 finally broke a string of unseasonably dry months that prevailed throughout the second half of 1998. Conditions did not look promising at the start of the month.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 20 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 20

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.

January 1999 finally broke a string of unseasonably dry months that prevailed throughout the second half of 1998. Conditions did not look promising at the start of the month. On January 5th, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) issued a conditional drought emergency. Heavy precipitation on the 3rd gave the area a temporary reprieve from going straight into a drought emergency. The DRBC expected that threshold to be reached on January 25th. Streamflow on the Delaware River was only 50 percent of normal. In Hunterdon County in Readington Township a level two water emergency remained in effect due to low well water levels. Subsequent heavy precipitation events on the 15th, 18th and 24th started replenishing reservoir and streamflow levels. At month's end, the lifting of the drought warning was only days away. On a county weighted average, January precipitation was around 200% to 250% of normal. It ranged from 6.5 inches in Sussex County to 9.0 inches in Ocean County. January 1999 was the third wettest January on record (dating back to 1895) for the state of New Jersey. January 1999 was the 8th wettest January on record at both the Marina within Atlantic City (6.4 inches) and at the Atlantic City International Airport (5.78 inches) in Pomona. Monthly precipitation totals were 5.42 inches at the Lehigh Valley International Airport and 4.89 inches at the Philadelphia International Airport.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

20 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Burlington

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Burlington forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Camden

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Camden forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.804, -74.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Cumberland

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Cumberland forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.328, -75.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Eastern Atlantic

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Atlantic forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Eastern Cape May

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Cape May forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Eastern Monmouth

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Monmouth forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Eastern Ocean

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Eastern Ocean forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Gloucester

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Gloucester forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.717, -75.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Hunterdon

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Hunterdon forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.567, -74.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Mercer

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Middlesex

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Middlesex forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.440, -74.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Morris

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Morris forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.862, -74.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Salem

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Salem forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.577, -75.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Somerset

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Somerset forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.564, -74.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Sussex

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Sussex forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Warren

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Warren forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.857, -74.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Western Atlantic

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Western Atlantic forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Western Cape May

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Western Cape May forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Western Monmouth

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Western Monmouth forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Western Ocean

When: January 1, 12:00 AM EST to 11:59 PM EST
Where: Western Ocean forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought: A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New Jersey in 1999 Every state in 1999 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, January 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: 5685385, 5685386, 5685387, 5685388, 5685389, 5685390, 5685391, 5685392, 5685393, 5685394, 5685395, 5685396, 5685397, 5685398, 5685399, 5685400, 5685401, 5685402, 5685403, 5685404.