Flood, Somerset
- When
- January 18, 1:52 PM EST to January 19, 9:19 PM EST
- Where
- Somerset County, Griggstown
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.450, -74.617
Flood in New Jersey, January 18 to 19, 2006
The combination of rain through the morning and afternoon of the 18th and melting snow produced flooding along sections of the North Branch of the Raritan River and the Millstone River from the afternon of the 18th into the evening of the 19th. 5 inches and with the additional water from the melting snow caused poor drainage and river flooding.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
The combination of rain through the morning and afternoon of the 18th and melting snow produced flooding along sections of the North Branch of the Raritan River and the Millstone River from the afternon of the 18th into the evening of the 19th. Storm totals averaged between 1.0 and 1.5 inches and with the additional water from the melting snow caused poor drainage and river flooding. The North Branch of the Raritan River at the village of South Branch was above its 7 foot flood stage from 152 p.m. EST through 1011 p.m. EST on the 18th. It crested at 8.02 feet at 630 p.m. EST. The Millstone River at Griggstown was above its 10 foot flood stage from 245 p.m. EST on the 18th through 919 p.m. EST on the 19th. It crested at 11.41 feet at 8 a.m. EST on the 19th. Storm totals included 1.33 inches in Blackwells Mills, 1.24 inches in Pottersville, 1.14 inches in Somerville, 1.12 inches in Far Hills and Martinsville. The heavy rain was caused by the same deep southeast flow that brought the strong winds to Somerset County. The heaviest rain fell along and just prior to the cold frontal passage during the morning of the 18th.
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 Jan 18, 12:38 PM EST, 1 hour 14 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 18, 12:38 PM EST, 1 hour 14 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 18, 4:50 AM EST, 9 hours 2 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MOUNT HOLLY NJ 450 AM EST WED JAN 18 2006 ANZ430-431-450>455-DEZ001>004-MDZ008-012-015-019-020-NJZ001- 007>010-012>027-PAZ054-055-060>062-067>071-191000- DELAWARE BAY WATERS NORTH OF EAST POINT NJ TO SLAUGHTER BEACH DE- DELAWARE BAY WATERS SOUTH OF EAST POINT NJ TO SLAUGHTER BEACH DE- COASTAL WATERS FROM SANDY HOOK TO MANASQUAN INLET NJ OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM MANASQUAN INLET TO LITTLE EGG INLET NJ OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM LITTLE EGG INLET TO GREAT EGG INLET NJ OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM GREAT EGG INLET TO CAPE MAY NJ OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE MAY NJ TO CAPE HENLOPEN DE OUT 20 NM- COASTAL WATERS FROM CAPE HENLOPEN TO FENWICK ISLAND DE OUT 20 NM- NEW CASTLE-KENT DE-INLAND SUSSEX-DELAWARE BEACHES-CECIL-KENT MD- QUEEN ANNES-TALBOT-CAROLINE-SUSSEX-WARREN-MORRIS-HUNTERDON- SOMERSET-MIDDLESEX-WESTERN MONMOUTH-EASTERN MONMOUTH-MERCER-SALEM- GLOUCESTER-CAMDEN-NORTHWESTERN BURLINGTON-OCEAN-CUMBERLAND- ATLANTIC-CAPE MAY-ATLANTIC COASTAL CAPE MAY-COASTAL ATLANTIC- COASTAL OCEAN-SOUTHEASTERN BURLINGTON-CARBON-MONROE-BERKS-LEHIGH- NORTHAMPTON-CHESTER-MONTGOMERY-BUCKS-DELAWARE-PHILADELPHIA- 450 AM EST WED JAN 18 2006 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, DELAWARE, THE NORTHERN MARYLAND EASTERN SHORE AND NEW JERSEY, EXCLUDING THE FIVE NORTHEAST COUNTIES. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON FOR DELAWARE, NEW JERSEY, MOST OF THE NORTHEAST MARYLAND SHORE, AND EXTREME SOUTHEASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, WITH A WIND ADVISORY THEN IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM. A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM ELSEWHERE (EXTREME NORTHEASTERN MARYLAND, AND MUCH OF SOUTHEASTERN AND EAST-CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA). A FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FOR ALL AREAS UNTIL NOON. ALSO, RAIN MAY END AS SNOW SHOWERS ESPECIALLY OVER HIGHER TERRAIN OVER NORTHWESTERN NEW JERSEY AND EAST-CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA, WITH ANY SNOW AMOUNTS AN INCH OR LESS THIS AFTERNOON. MINOR TIDAL FLOODING IS POSSIBLE WITH THE HIGH TIDE THIS MORNING, THEN BLOW OUT TIDES ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON ALONG THE NEW JERSEY AND DELAWARE COASTS AND LIKELY TONIGHT ALONG THE OCEAN FRONT AND DELAWARE BAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... IT WOULD BE APPRECIATED IF SPOTTERS COULD REPORT IN ANY STRONG WIND GUSTS (OVER 50 MPH) OR ANY DAMAGE REPORTS, AS WELL AS ANY FLOODING REPORTS.
In the hours before
Local storm report, Jan 18, 11:24 AM EST, 2 hours 28 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>Special weather statement, Jan 18, 1:20 PM EST, 32 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>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
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, January 18, 2006
- High Wind and Strong Wind in New Jersey, January 18, 2006
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Pennsylvania, January 18, 2006
- High Wind in Connecticut, January 18, 2006
- High Wind in Maine, January 18, 2006
- High Wind in Rhode Island, January 18, 2006
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Delaware, January 18, 2006
- Wildfire in Oklahoma, January 18 to 19, 2006
- Flooding in Vermont, January 18, 2006
- Flash Flood in Pennsylvania, January 18, 2006
- Strong Wind in Maryland, January 18, 2006
- High Wind in New Hampshire, January 18, 2006
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, January 2006
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5487124.