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- Len Melisurgo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
It rained. And it rained. And it rained.
That was the reality for many water-logged New Jerseyans as a relentless series of thunderstorms and rain showers enhanced by the moisture from Tropical Storm Debby pounded parts of the Garden State from Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning.
The deluge turned some streets into rivers, with water levels rising up to car doors in some towns and residents taking canoes for rides on flooded roads.
More than a dozen towns were saturated with more than 4 inches of rain, picking up a full month’s worth of rain in several hours. And a few towns were drenched with more than 7 inches of rain — nearly two month’s worth of water from the sky. (See the list of towns and rainfall totals below.)
The bad news: More rain is on the way from scattered rain showers Wednesday and Thursday, then heavier rain is predicted for Friday into early Saturday, when Debby’s remnants will be pushing northward.
Here are the 11 AM EDT, Aug 7 Key Messages for Tropical Storm #Debby. Follow the latest at https://t.co/tW4KeGe9uJ pic.twitter.com/btUYaEuFTG
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) August 7, 2024
As of 11 a.m. Wednesday, Debby was still a tropical storm and gained a little strength from earlier in the morning, with top sustained winds increasing from 45 mph to 60 mph as the storm continued to swirl about 55 miles southeast of Charleston, South Carolina, and about 100 miles south of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
The National Hurricane Center said the center of the storm was crawling in a northeast direction at only 5 mph.
Debby is expected to pick up speed and weaken to a tropical depression as it moves north-northeast across the Carolinas on Thursday and Friday, then toward the Northeast as a post-tropical depression on Friday and Saturday, the National Hurricane Center said.
A post-tropical depression no longer has tropical characteristics, based on technical definitions from the National Weather Service, but it can still pack heavy rain and strong winds. When the storm system arrives in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, forecasters say it is expected to merge with a frontal system and impact New Jersey with plenty of rain and potential street and river flooding on Friday, which could linger into early Saturday.
Top 25 rainfall totals in N.J.
Here’s a look at the places in New Jersey that received the highest rainfall totals as of Tuesday night and early Wednesday morning, according to reports from the National Weather Service, the Rutgers NJ Weather Network and the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail & Snow Network.
- 7.76 inches - Pennington, Mercer County (as of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday)
- 7.48 inches - Hopewell, Mercer County (as of 7 a.m. Wednesday)
- 7.03 inches - Delran, Burlington County (as of 10:15 p.m. Tuesday)
- 6.09 inches - Fairview, Burlington County (as of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday)
- 6.01 inches - New Albany, Burlington County (as of 10 p.m. Tuesday)
- 5.68 inches - Willingboro, Burlington County (as of 10 p.m. Tuesday)
- 5.67 inches - Cinnaminson, Burlington County (as of 7 a.m. Wednesday)
- 5.35 inches - Ewing, Mercer County (as of 10:37 p.m. Tuesday)
- 5.24 inches - Manalapan, Monmouth County (as of 7:30 a.m. Wednesday)
- 4.37 inches - Lawrenceville, Mercer County (as of 10:43 p.m. Tuesday)
- 4.36 inches - Colts Neck, Monmouth County (as of 9 a.m. Wednesday)
- 4.17 inches - Camden, Camden County (as of 10:40 p.m. Tuesday)
- 4.16 inches - Caldwell, Essex County (as of 8:45 a.m. Wednesday)
- 4.14 inches - Cedar Grove, Essex County (as of 8:50 a.m. Wednesday)
- 4.13 inches - North Arlington, Bergen County (as of 8:50 a.m. Wednesday)
- 4.12 inches - Verona, Essex County (as of 8:35 a.m. Wednesday)
- 4.11 inches - Cherry Hill, Camden County (as of 8:35 a.m. Wednesday)
- 3.91 inches - Maplewood, Essex County (as of 8:10 a.m. Wednesday)
- 3.89 inches - Oceanport, Monmouth County (as of 10 a.m. Wednesday)
- 3.89 inches - West Windsor, Mercer County (as of 6:55 a.m. Wednesday)
- 3.87 inches - Burlington, Burlington County (as of 8 a.m. Wednesday)
- 3.86 inches - Long Branch, Monmouth County (as of 6:30 a.m. Wednesday)
- 3.86 inches - Oakland, Bergen County (as of 5 a.m. Wednesday)
- 3.84 inches - Monmouth Beach, Monmouth County (as of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday)
- 3.82 inches - Teterboro Airport, Bergen County (as of 8:50 a.m. Wednesday)
Current weather radar
Stories by Len Melisurgo
- Flash flood warnings issued in N.J. as strong thunderstorms drench streets with heavy rain
- Tornado watch extended in 11 N.J. counties, parts of Pa. and N.Y.
- N.J. weather: Flood watch issued in 11 counties as heavy rain from Debby targets state
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com or on X at @LensReality.
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