New Jersey saw a lot of rain this week – so much rain that parts of the state saw double the amount of rain than the state typically sees in all of June.
New Jersey on average sees 4 inches of rain for all of June. But this week parts of southern New Jersey saw much more than that.
“There are some areas in central Jersey, kind of in the Interstate 195 corridor, that are up to 6, 8 or 9 inches. Tabernacle, thanks to that one localized storm, is up to a foot of rain for the month of June,” says state climatologist David Robinson.
The high rain totals have started to have a major impact across the state. In Burlington County, the Rancocas Creek reached its highest levels since Hurricane Irene and Westville was under several feet of water.
But are these events becoming more common or are New Jerseyans just more aware of them than in the past?
“We have more gauges out there catching the rain these days…We've seen heavy rain events, and persistently wet periods for a long, long time,” Robinson says.
What caused so much rain to fall in New Jersey over the last few days? A weather front stalled over the state. When the sun did come out, it energized areas of low pressure along the front, creating soaking rain and thunderstorms. The storms stayed in the same place for hours due to a lack of wind. But a cold front Friday will finally move the front out to sea, giving way to a beautiful weekend.
News 12 forecasters say that the rain is expected to return early next week.