Flood, Mercer
- When
- June 4, 5:02 AM EST to 8:45 AM 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)
Flood in New Jersey, June 4, 2003
m. m.
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.
Heavy rain fell across Mercer County in two surges: from around 11 p.m. EDT on the 3rd through 3 a.m. EDT on the 4th and from 6 a.m. through 10 a.m. EDT on the 4th. Storm totals averaged between 2.0 and 2.5 inches and caused urban and poor drainage flooding as flooding along sections of the Assunpink Creek. The Assunpink Creek in Trenton was above its 7 foot flood stage from 602 a.m. EDT through 945 a.m. EDT on the 4th. It crested at 7.17 feet at 830 a.m. EDT. Storm totals included 2.55 inches in Princeton, 2.30 inches in Trenton and 2.16 inches in Hightstown. The low pressure system that caused the heavy rain moved from the Southern Plains the morning of the 2nd, into the Ohio Valley the morning of the 3rd, near Pittsburgh the morning of the 4th and into Lake Erie during the evening of the 4th. The heavy rain preceded the arrival of this low pressure system's warm front.
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 Jun 4, 1:55 AM EST, 3 hours 7 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jun 4, 1:55 AM EST, 3 hours 7 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 255 AM EDT WED JUN 4 2003 WE/RE GOING TO CANCEL THE FLOOD WATCH IN MOST OF OUR CWA EXCEPT FOR SOMERSET AND MORRIS WHERE RUNOFF PBLMS MIGHT STILL CAUSE FLOODING ALG PARTS OF THE PASSAIC AND SOMERSET BASINS. AXIS OF HVYST PCPN IS MOVG NE AND PCPN AMTS WERE LIGHT ENUF TO NOT CAUSE FLOODING. QPF AMTS SO FAR HAVE AVERAGED ABT AN INCH. THE DRIER ETA AT THIS JUNCTURE DID THE BEST OF THE THREE U.S. MDLS. THE ETA HAS INIT BETTER AT H5 AND THE GFS DID BETTER AT H8. BOTH MDLS THO ARE PRETTY SIM AS THEIR WAA INDCD PCPN AXIS SHIFTS OFSHR ERLY TDY. THERE WILL BE LESS OF A CHC FOR PCPN AS THE DAY WEARS ON UNTIL THE OCFNT PASSAGE APCHS TNGT. THE ONSHR FLOW SHLD PREVENT ANY SVR CONVECTION TDY...MUCH CONVECTION IF AT ALL. WE/LL ADD A CHC OF THUNDER IN SRN ZNS CLOSEST TO TRIPLE POINT. OCEAN TEMPS ARE STILL IN THE 50S AND WITH WEAK ONSHR FLOW CONTG TDY WE PREFER LEANING TWD THE COOLER GFS MOS GUID. WORDING ON FCST WILL DEPEND UPON HOW MUCH PCPN CLRS THE CWA ERLY THIS MRNG. AS MENTIONED ABV WE WILL LWR CHCS AS DAY WEARS ON. THERE SHLD BE AN INCRG CHC LTR IN THE DAY AS OCFNT AND SHRT WV APCH. WE WILL INCLD THE CHC OF TSRA FAR SRN ZNS CLOSEST TO TRIPLE PT WHERE ETA FCSTG CAPES CLS TO 1000J AND TT AND K INDICES ARE AT LOW END OF THUNDER PTNL. THIS IS MORE FOR THUNDER SPILLING INTO THE AREA THEN DVLPG HERE. VERY IMPRESSUVE JET STRUCTURE ALF...WE/RE FORTUNATE TO HAVE MARINE AREA TO KEEP US STABLE NEAR THE SFC. WE/LL KEEP PCPN CHCS IN FOR TNGT AS OCFNT MOVES THRU OUR CWA. THERE ISN/T ENUF INSTAB TO INCLUDE THUNDER OTHER THAN SPILLOVER EARLY IN THE EVE SRN ZNS. THIS DOESN/T ALWAYS WORK...BUT IT APRS THERE MAY BE ENUF WIND/CLDS TO PREVENT US FROM FOGGING IN TNGT. DAY SHIFT CAN REACCESS. WE/RE LEANING TWD COOLER GFS MOS GUID GIVEN WE/RE NOT EXPECTING TEMPS TO DO MUCH TDY. AIR MASS BEHIND THIS LOW IS NOT TERRIBLY COOL. WINDS WILL BE DOWNSLOPING AND OFSHR THU AND WILL BE A PLEASANT CHG FROM TDY. GUID MAX TEMPS OVERALL LOOK REASONABLE AND WE WILL AVG THE HIER OF THE TWO DATA SETS BASED ON FULL SUN MACROS AND FCSTD H8 TEMPS. WE WILL ADD A CHC OF LATE DAY SHRA IN FAR NRN ZNS BASED ON AFTN ARRIVAL OF DECENT SHRT WV. INSTAB PARAMETERS FOR NOW PRECLUDE THE MNTN OF THUNDER. NOT TOO MANY CHGS TO THE EXTDD. ANOTHER DECENT DAY ON FRI. NEXT PCPN SHOT APRS SLATED FOR SAT. LATEST GFS PUSHES PCPN SHOT AFT THAT BACK TO TUE. WE/RE NOT GOING TO CHG EXTDD BASED ON OTHER MED RNG MDLS STILL HAVE IT SCHEDULED TO MON. MARINE: WE/LL CONT SCA FOR SEAS ON THE OCEAN ONLY. TU FOR COORD/12 OKX AND SPC. GRIDS ARE IN. .PHI... DE...NONE. MD...NONE. NJ...FLOOD WATCH THROUGH MIDDAY TDY FOR ZONES NJZ008>010. PA...NONE. MARINE...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY ALONG NJ AND DE ATLANTIC COAST. TFG
Hazardous weather outlook, Jun 4, 4:28 AM EST, 34 minutes before
DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001-007>010-012>027-PAZ054-055- 060>062-067>071-041130- HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 528 AM EDT WED JUN 4 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PENNSYLVANIA...DELAWARE...THE NORTHERN MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE...AND NEW JERSEY EXCLUDING THE FIVE NORTHEAST COUNTIES. .DAY ONE...TODAY A FLOOD WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR SOMERSET AND MORRIS COUNTIES. ELSEWHERE HEAVY RAIN SHOULD BE ENDING VERY EARLY THIS MORNING. THERE IS ALSO A MODERATE RISK FOR RIP CURRENTS TODAY ALONG THE OCEAN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. TFG
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- Tornadoes and Flash Flooding in Texas, June 4, 2003
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, June 4, 2003
- Tornadoes and Hail in New Mexico, June 4, 2003
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Texas, June 4 to 5, 2003
- Damaging Winds in Texas, June 4, 2003
- Lightning Strikes in Oklahoma, June 4, 2003
- Damaging Wind in Texas, June 4, 2003
- Damaging Wind in North Carolina, June 4, 2003
- Hail in New Mexico, June 4, 2003
- Hail in Oklahoma, June 4, 2003
- Flash Flooding and Hail in Oklahoma, June 4 to 5, 2003
- Tornadoes in Kansas, June 4, 2003
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, June 2003
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: 5363990.