Tornado Watch In SOMA: Floods Possible, Weather Forecasters Say

SOUTH ORANGE-MAPLEWOOD, NJ — UPDATE: The tornado watch in Essex County has been extended until 10 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 9. Our original article follows below.

Maplewood and South Orange are seeing a double whammy of weather warnings for Friday, with a “tornado watch” and “flood advisory” in effect, forecasters say.

The National Weather Service (NWS) is predicting showers and thunderstorms with strong winds in Maplewood, South Orange and the surrounding area. There is a tornado watch in effect until 2 p.m., and a flood advisory in effect until 8:45 a.m.

“There is the potential for isolated to scattered instances of flash flooding late this afternoon into tonight, along with urban and poor drainage flooding,” a hazardous weather outlook for the area reads.

“In addition, there is a marginal to slight risk for severe weather for the area, with the primary threat being damaging winds with a localized tornado threat,” the NWS adds.

Maplewood public safety officials said Thursday that they were monitoring the weather and its potential impacts.

"The Department of Public Works has taken precautionary measures to clean drainage areas where floods have occurred in the past," officials said. "Catch basin inlets have been cleaned and street sweepers have been deployed to remove debris from streets. Prior to the storm, if you see a catch basin inlet that needs cleaning, please call the DPW at 973-762-1175."

"During the storm, Township Departments will be prepared to address problems that arise," officials continued. "Please call the Maplewood Police Department at 973-762-1234 to report flooding, fallen trees, downed wires, and other storm related problems."

If electrical power is lost, Maplewood residents can call PSE&G at 1-800-436-PSEG (7734). People should not touch any downed wires or downed trees with wires in them.

Other local storm updates in Maplewood included:

"We are concerned about the saturated ground from recent rains. Trees in saturated soil are prone to uprooting, as their roots cannot anchor trees into the ground. If a tree is uprooted, call the police at 973-762-1234 to report its location. If a tree takes down any wires, stay away. Do not touch any downed wires or downed trees with wires in them. If a tree is downed with wires, no work can be done until PSE&G cuts the power. The Police and DPW will coordinate with PSE&G to handle these types of situations. If you need emergency shelter or a cooling center, call the police at 973-762-1234. Call 911 to report a health or medical emergency or a fire. During the storm the OEM will monitor the situation and may issue additional alerts."

LOCAL WEATHER FORECAST

Here is the weather forecast for the rest of the weekend, as per the NWS:

Friday: A chance of showers and thunderstorms, then showers and possibly a thunderstorm after 2pm. High near 83. Breezy, with a south wind 14 to 21 mph, with gusts as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Friday Night: Showers and possibly a thunderstorm, mainly before 2am, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2am. Low around 71. Breezy, with a south wind 16 to 21 mph decreasing to 9 to 14 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

Saturday: Sunny, with a high near 85. West wind 7 to 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 64. West wind 5 to 7 mph.

Sunday: Sunny, with a high near 82. Light west wind increasing to 5 to 10 mph in the morning.

Sunday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 64.

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