Storm Surge in New Jersey, March 20 to 21, 2003

Name: Storm Surge in New Jersey, March 20 to 21, 2003
Start: 2003-03-20T23:00
End: 2003-03-21T06:00
Location: New Jersey

March 20 to 21, 2003 · NWS PHI · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: 4

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 southeast winds blowing up the Delaware Bay and runoff from heavy rain helped produce minor tidal flooding around the time of the overnight high tide (20th into the 21st) in the Delaware River and tidal sections of its tributaries. High tide at Reedy Island (New Castle County) reached 7.65 feet above mean lower low water. Minor tidal flooding begins at 7.2 feet above mean lower low water. The highest tide in Philadelphia reached 8.61 feet above mean lower low water. Minor tidal flooding begins at 8.2 feet above mean lower low water. The highest tide in Burlington reached 10.10 feet above mean lower low water. Minor tidal flooding begins at 9.0 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 Mar 20, 7:50 PM EST, 3 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 20, 7:50 PM EST, 3 hours 10 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Mar 20, 6:00 AM EST, 17 hours before

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In the hours before

Special weather statement, Mar 20, 6:55 PM EST, 4 hours 5 minutes before

DEZ001>003-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ016>019-021-PAZ069>071-210900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
655 PM EST THU MAR 20 2003

..MINOR TIDAL FLOODING IS EXPECTED OVERNIGHT ALONG THE COASTS OF
DELAWARE BAY AND ALONG THE TIDAL PORTIONS OF THE DELAWARE RIVER AND
ITS TRIBUTARIES
...MINOR TIDAL FLOODING IS ALSO POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT ALONG THE MARYLAND
UPPER EASTERN SHORE...

PERSISTENT EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS HAVE RAISED WATER LEVELS IN THE
CHESAPEAKE AND DELAWARE BAYS...INCLUDING THE TIDAL PORTION OF THE
DELAWARE RIVER. HEAVY RAIN THIS EVENING AND RUNOFF FROM THE HEAVY
RAIN OVERNIGHT WILL ONLY ADD TO THE WATER LEVELS.

HIGHER THAN NORMAL TIDES HAVE BEEN OCCURRING...AND MINOR TIDAL
FLOODING IS EXPECTED NEAR THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE TONIGHT IN DELAWARE
BAYS...AND ALONG THE TIDAL PORTIONS OF THE DELAWARE RIVER AND ITS
TRIBUTARIES. MINOR TIDAL FLOODING IS POSSIBLE TONIGHT ALONG THE
UPPER EASTERN SHORE OF MARYLAND.

SOME TIDAL FLOODING OCCURRED EARLY THIS MORNING ALONG THE ADMIRAL
WILSON BOULEVARD AND THIS SHOULD OCCUR AGAIN THIS EVENING. IN
ADDITION...SOME OF THE ROADS IN PHILADELPHIA THAT RUN ALONG THE
DELAWARE RIVER COULD ALSO SEE SOME FLOODING.

BE PREPARED FOR POSSIBLE ROAD CLOSINGS AROUND THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE.
DO NOT DRIVE AROUND BARRICADES OR THROUGH FLOODED AREAS. THE WATER
MAY BE DEEPER THAN YOU THINK.

TFG/CORRECTED HEADLINE

Special weather statement, Mar 20, 6:55 PM EST, 4 hours 5 minutes before

DEZ001>003-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ016>019-021-PAZ069>071-210900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ
655 PM EST THU MAR 20 2003

..MINOR TIDAL FLOODING IS EXPECTED OVERNIGHT ALONG THE COASTS OF
DELAWARE BAY AND ALONG THE TIDAL PORTIONS OF THE DELAWARE RIVER AND
ITS TRIBUTARIES
...MINOR TIDAL FLOODING IS ALSO POSSIBLE TODAY ALONG THE MARYLAND
UPPER EASTERN SHORE...

PERSISTENT EAST TO SOUTHEAST WINDS HAVE RAISED WATER LEVELS IN THE
CHESAPEAKE AND DELAWARE BAYS...INCLUDING THE TIDAL PORTION OF THE
DELAWARE RIVER. HEAVY RAIN THIS EVENING AND RUNOFF FROM THE HEAVY
RAIN OVERNIGHT WILL ONLY ADD TO THE WATER LEVELS.

HIGHER THAN NORMAL TIDES HAVE BEEN OCCURRING...AND MINOR TIDAL
FLOODING IS EXPECTED NEAR THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE TONIGHT IN DELAWARE
BAYS...AND ALONG THE TIDAL PORTIONS OF THE DELAWARE RIVER AND ITS
TRIBUTARIES. MINOR TIDAL FLOODING IS POSSIBLE TONIGHT ALONG THE
UPPER EASTERN SHORE OF MARYLAND.

SOME TIDAL FLOODING OCCURRED EARLY THIS MORNING ALONG THE ADMIRAL
WILSON BOULEVARD AND THIS SHOULD OCCUR AGAIN THIS EVENING. IN
ADDITION...SOME OF THE ROADS IN PHILADELPHIA THAT RUN ALONG THE
DELAWARE RIVER COULD ALSO SEE SOME FLOODING.

BE PREPARED FOR POSSIBLE ROAD CLOSINGS AROUND THE TIME OF HIGH TIDE.
DO NOT DRIVE AROUND BARRICADES OR THROUGH FLOODED AREAS. THE WATER
MAY BE DEEPER THAN YOU THINK.

TFG

Special weather statement, Mar 20, 8:32 PM EST, 2 hours 28 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 storm surge/tide. Local standard time, as filed.

Storm Surge/Tide, Salem

When: March 20, 11:00 PM EST to March 21, 3:00 AM 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)

Storm Surge/Tide, Gloucester

When: March 21, 12:00 AM EST to 4:00 AM 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)

Storm Surge/Tide, Camden

When: March 21, 1:00 AM EST to 5:00 AM 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)

Storm Surge/Tide, Northwestern Burlington

When: March 21, 2:00 AM EST to 6:00 AM EST
Where: Northwestern Burlington forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Storm Surge/Tide: Water pushed ashore above the normal tide by a storm’s winds and low pressure.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New Jersey in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, March 2003 The 2003 hurricane season

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: 5352423, 5352421, 5352420, 5352422.