More than half of New Jersey, including areas hit hard by last week’s flooding rains, are under a flash flood watch on Wednesday with up to 2 inches of rain and a threat of tornadoes in the forecast.
The flash flood watch runs from this afternoon through the evening in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Morris, Somerset, Sussex Union, Passaic and Warren counties.
The National Weather Service says strong thunderstorms that bring brief, heavy rain of 1 to 2 inches might cause flooding in low-lying and flood-prone areas, especially since the ground is very saturated from last week’s flooding
The watch expires at 4 a.m. in the five northeast counties and 2 a.m. elsewhere.
Wednesday’s storms could produce damaging winds and isolated tornadoes, which could rip down trees and power lines, the weather service said.
There's a slight risk of severe weather in about half of New Jersey on Wednesday. Sept. 8, 2021.National Weather Service
The greatest threat of strong winds and potential tornadoes is north of Interstate 195 and west of Interstate 95. The bulk of the west to east moving rain should push off the coast by 2 a.m. Thursday, the weather service said in its morning forecast discussion.
New Jersey usually gets an average of two tornadoes each year, but already has 13 confirmed twisters this year.
The state record is 17 tornadoes, which occurred in 1989, a year New Jersey had a major outbreak of seven tornadoes on one day.
Meanwhile, minor flooding is taking place along the Passaic River in the Pine Brook area on Wednesday.
In addition, there’s a high risk of rip currents along the Jersey Shore from 8 a.m. Wednesday through this evening. Dangerous rip currents are also expected on Thursday and Friday.
The forecast for the rest of the week looks better. While Thursday will be mainly cloudy with highs in the upper 70s, Friday, Saturday and Sunday are shaping up to be sunny and mild. Temps will climb into the upper 70s Friday and the low to mid 80s on Saturday and Sunday.
Current weather radar
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.
Jeff Goldman may be reached at [email protected].