Latest storm marks extremely rainy month in NJ: How it compares to a normal September

David M. Zimmer, NorthJersey.com
Updated ·2 min read
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A Friday deluge that broke records in Bergenfield and Cedar Grove had left the region reeling Saturday from widespread flooding.

The rain event that hit North Jersey on Friday morning flooded homes and roads and spurred Gov. Phil Murphy to declare a state of emergency. There were road closures along parts of Route 3 in Clifton, on Vreeland Street in Lodi and on Passaic Avenue in Fairfield, where the a man trapped in his car by waist-deep water and was rescued by Steven D’Argenio, Fairfield police corporal.

Hoboken declared a state of emergency due to the flooding, which was lifted Saturday afternoon.

By the time it ended Saturday, the storm had dropped 2.44 inches of rain on Cedar Grove, said Bob Ziff of the North Jersey Weather Observers, beating the previous record of 2.41 inches set in 1963. Another record was likely set in Bergenfield where reports show 1.77 inches of rain on Friday, well above the 2011 record of 1.08 inches, Ziff said.

The totals were even higher roughly 15 miles north in Ramsey, where 4.2 inches of rain fell, Ziff said. The storm total was roughly the same as total for a normal September in Ramsey, which has seen more than 13 inches of rain in September, he added.

Over the previous 10 Septembers, statewide average has been about 3.66 inches of rain, with the high of 7.57 inches coming in 2018, according to the state climatologist's office. From 1991-2020 the average was 4.16 inches. The record high of 9.5 inches was set in 1999, records show.

Radar data from the National Weather Service shows the Friday storm could have been even more devastating to the region. The heaviest rain hit off the shore of Monmouth County, where coastal flooding was prevalent.

The flood risk in North Jersey peaked Friday night. The Saddle River in Lodi crested at 8 feet at about 9:30 p.m. but was back to normal levels by late Saturday morning. The Hackensack River remained high Saturday and was roughly three times as high in New Milford as it was early in the week. However, the extended forecast from the National Weather Service shows no threat of rain over the next several days.

Friday rain totals in inches:

  • Ramsey: 4.13

  • Cedar Grove: 2.44

  • Bergenfield: 1.77

  • N. Haledon: 2.60

  • Haworth: 1.87

  • Elizabeth: 1.55

  • Hillsdale: 2.80

  • Lyndhurst: 1.80

  • Paterson 2.85

  • North Haledon: 2.88

  • Sparta: 0.72

  • New Brunswick: 2.57

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: NJ weather leaves deluge of rain, flooding in North Jersey