dpA flood watch has been issued for 14 New Jersey counties for Tuesday, with multiple rounds of severe thunderstorms that could inundate parts of the state with up to 4 inches of rain.
”Average rainfall totals will be between 1 and 2 inches, with isolated totals around 3 to 4 inches possible,” the National Weather Service said Monday afternoon in an alert. “Peak rainfall rates in the strongest storms could be near 2.5 inches per hour.”
The flood watch runs from Tuesday morning until 2 a.m. Wednesday for Bergen, Camden, Essex, Gloucester, Hudson, Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Somerset, Union and northwestern Burlington counties.
Showers are expected to start early Tuesday, with more widespread severe thunderstorms possible in the afternoon and evening.
- Thunderstorms soaked state with 3+ inches of rain Saturday. See town-by-town rainfall totals.
The Storm Prediction Center has upgraded most of New Jersey from a slight risk to an elevated risk, level 3 of 5, for severe weather on Tuesday. Just the northeastern corner of the state closest to New York City remains under a slight risk.
High temperatures Tuesday will range from the mid-70s in northern New Jersey to the upper-80s in southern portions of the state.
In addition to the threat of flooding, the storms could pack damaging wind gusts and large hail. An isolated tornado cannot be ruled out, the weather service said.
A cold front is expected to cross the state from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, keeping showers and thunderstorms through the first half of Wednesday.
There is some uncertainty about whether the cold front will clear the area quickly or linger, which would extend rain chances into Wednesday afternoon.
Current weather radar
