New Jersey, 2001

Heavy Rain in New Jersey, May 26, 2001

May 26, 2001 · NWS PHI · 9 events in 9 counties and zones

A slow moving cold front and a very humid air mass preceding it helped generate showers and thunderstorms with heavy rain across northwest and much of southwest New Jersey during the daylight hours on the 26th. 5 inches in these areas.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 9 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
9

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.

A slow moving cold front and a very humid air mass preceding it helped generate showers and thunderstorms with heavy rain across northwest and much of southwest New Jersey during the daylight hours on the 26th. Average storm totals were between 1.5 and 2.5 inches in these areas. There was a considerable drop in precipitation totals farther east in New Jersey.Little or no rain fell across Eastern Ocean and Monmouth Counties. While the heavy rain produced some urban and poor drainage flooding, no serious flooding was reported. Storm totals included 2.36 inches in Verga (Gloucester County), 2.26 inches in Riegelsville (Warren County), 2.22 inches in Trenton (Mercer County), 2.15 inches in West Deptford (Gloucester County), 2.13 inches in Phillipsburg (Warren County), 2.06 inches in Long Valley (Morris County) and Wertsville (Hunterdon County), 2.01 inches in Flemington (Hunterdon County), 1.97 inches in Somerville (Somerset County), 1.92 inches in Pennsauken (Camden County), 1.79 in Andover (Sussex County) and 1.55 inches in Sussex (Sussex County).

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Philadelphia/Mount Holly wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 26, 2:10 AM EST, 3 hours 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 26, 2:10 AM EST, 3 hours 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
310 AM EDT SAT MAY 26 2001

DISC: UPPER LVL LOW OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION FORECAST TO STAY PUT
THROUGH MOST OF THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND WITH VORT MAX/S MOVING ACROSS
THE CWA WITH THE GENERAL FLOW. AS A RESULT...CLOUDY SKIES WILL BE
THE RULE FOR A LOT OF THE TIME. HOWEVER SUNSHINE IS POSSIBLE
ESPECIALLY ON SUN AND THE WEEKEND WON/T BE A TOTAL WASHOUT SINCE
PRECIPITATION WON/T BE FALLING ALL THE TIME. THUNDERSTORMS ARE
POSSIBLE TODAY AND SUN...BUT MOST PARAMETERS ARE NOT SHOWING
CONDITIONS TOO FAVORABLE FOR SEVERE WEATHER. HAVE GONE WITH LIKELY
POPS IN MOST LOCATIONS TODAY AND TONIGHT...WITH CHANCE POPS ON
SUN...MAINLY LATER IN THE DAY OR IN THE EVENING HOURS. FLOODING
CANNOT BE RULED OUT BUT WILL BE MORE ISOLATED THAN WIDESPREAD IF IT
DEVELOPS. SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS STILL POSSIBLE ON MON BUT THERE
COULD ALSO BE A FEW PEAKS OF SUN THROUGH THE CLOUDS SO HAVE GONE
WITH LESS PESSIMISTIC WORDING BY USING VARIABLE CLOUDINESS RATHER
THAN MOSTLY CLOUDY IN THE FIRST DAY OF THE EXTENDED.

DID NOT STRAY TOO FAR FROM MOS TEMP GUIDANCE IN THIS PACKAGE.

NO MAJOR CHANGES TO THE EXTENDED FIN THIS PACKAGE.

NOTHING ON THE MARINE AT THE CURRENT TIME...AND NOT EXPECTING ANYTHING
IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

.PHI...NONE.

JJM

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

9 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Rain, Camden

When
May 26, 6:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Camden County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.804, -74.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Gloucester

When
May 26, 6:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Gloucester County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.717, -75.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Hunterdon

When
May 26, 6:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Hunterdon County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.567, -74.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Mercer

When
May 26, 6:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Mercer County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Morris

When
May 26, 6:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Morris County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.862, -74.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Salem

When
May 26, 6:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Salem County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
39.577, -75.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Somerset

When
May 26, 6:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Somerset County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.564, -74.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Sussex

When
May 26, 6:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Sussex County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Rain, Warren

When
May 26, 6:00 AM EST to 6:00 PM EST
Where
Warren County, Countywide
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
40.857, -74.997 (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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Jersey in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, May 2001

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: 5244830, 5244831, 5244832, 5244833, 5244834, 5244835, 5244836, 5244837, 5244838.