New Jersey, 2001

Flooding in New Jersey, October 14, 2001

October 14, 2001 · NWS PHI · 7 events in 7 counties and zones

The combination of spring astronomical tides caused by the new moon and a strong southeast onshore flow preceding a cold front produced minor tidal flooding at the time of high tide during the evening of the 14th along the ocean and extended into Delaware Bay and the Delaware River as far north as Salem County. 86 feet above mean lower low water at Sandy Hook.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 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
7

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.

The combination of spring astronomical tides caused by the new moon and a strong southeast onshore flow preceding a cold front produced minor tidal flooding at the time of high tide during the evening of the 14th along the ocean and extended into Delaware Bay and the Delaware River as far north as Salem County. High tides reached 7.20 feet above mean lower low water at the Cape May Ferry Terminal and 6.86 feet above mean lower low water at Sandy Hook. Minor tidal flooding begins on the ocean side when tides exceed 6.7 feet above mean lower low water. On the lower Delaware River, high tide at Reedy Island (New Castle County Delaware ) reached 7.49 feet above mean lower low water. Minor tidal flooding at Reedy Island starts at 7.2 feet above mean lower low water.

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 Oct 14, 2:29 PM EST, 2 hours 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 14, 2:29 PM EST, 2 hours 31 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
329 PM EDT SUN OCT 14 2001

MDLS REMAIN CONSISTENT WITH HANDLING OF FNTL SYS.  CD FNT CURNTLY IN
WRN PA WILL ZIP E AND BE OFF CST MON MRNG.  XPCT SHWRS TO DVLP THIS
EVE AHEAD OF FNT BUT WITH FNT MOVG VRY FAST...PRECIP SHUD BE ONLY
FOR SML PD OF TIME. ONCE FNT MOVS OFFSHORE...DRY AIR TO RULE MON
INTO TUE. NXT FNT AND UP TROF TO APPROACH AREA LT TUE.  PREFER AVN
MDL ON ENTIRE EVOLN OF EVENTS.  AM WONDERING HOW MUCH MSTR WL BE
AVAILABLE. AS SUCH...WL PLACE 30 POP IN LT TUE FOR MOST ZNS XCPT
CNTRL AND ERN NJ.

ON MARINE...XPCT WNDS TO COME UP BRIEFLY TO SCA CONDS AHEAD OF FNT
THEN DROP BELOW CRITERIA TNGT. AS SUCH WL CONT SCA ON CST AND ALNG
THE DEL BAY.

FCSTID = 14
MPO   48  60  40  55 / 100  10  20  30
ABE   52  67  42  61 /  90  10  10  30
RDG   52  67  42  61 /  90  10  10  30
PHL   56  70  49  69 /  80  10  10  30
12N   50  62  42  58 / 100  10  20  30
SMQ   54  68  43  63 /  90  10  10  30
TTN   52  70  45  66 /  80  10  10  30
MIV   56  71  43  67 /  80  10  10  20
ACY   58  72  46  65 /  80  10  10  20
ILG   55  70  45  66 /  80  10  10  30
DOV   58  70  48  68 /  80  10  10  20
GED   58  70  48  68 /  80  10  10  20
ESN   58  70  48  68 /  80  10  10  20

.PHI...
DE...NONE.
MD...NONE.
NJ...NONE.
PA...NONE.
MARINE...SML CRFT ADVSRY CST AND BAY.

JWH

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Eastern Atlantic

When
October 14, 5:00 PM EST to 8:00 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)

Flood, Eastern Cape May

When
October 14, 5:00 PM EST to 8:00 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)

Flood, Eastern Monmouth

When
October 14, 5:00 PM EST to 8:00 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)

Flood, Eastern Ocean

When
October 14, 5:00 PM EST to 8:00 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)

Flood, Western Cape May

When
October 14, 5:00 PM EST to 8:00 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)

Flood, Cumberland

When
October 14, 6:00 PM EST to 9:00 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)

Flood, Salem

When
October 14, 7:00 PM EST to 10:00 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)

What these are

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

More

Every storm in New Jersey in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, October 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5269889, 5269890, 5269891, 5269892, 5269893, 5269894, 5269895.