Central Jersey bracing for another round of severe weather. Here’s the latest
In a summer already marked by extreme weather events, Central Jersey is bracing for another round of potential flash floods July 31 as a cold front dips through the area.
Acting Gov. Tahesha Way has declared that New Jersey will enter a State of Emergency effective at 2 p.m. Thursday due to the potential for flash flooding, severe thunderstorms, intense rainfall, and damaging wind gusts.
The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for all of Central Jersey from 2 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Friday.
Widespread showers and thunderstorms are anticipated to develop across the region, possibly as early as 2 p.m. The storms will move northwest to southeast as the cold front crosses the state.
There is the possibility of a widespread area of 1 to 3 inches of rain with the front, but local downpours of 5 to 7 inches are possible according to the National Weather Service.
The rainfall could exceed 2 inches per hour, which could overwhelm drainage systems and cause street and highway flooding.
The greatest threat for flash flooding will depend on exactly how the cold front progresses.
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Another factor, according to the National Weather Service, could be the speed of the storms. Because of the tropical air mass ahead if the flood, the storms may not be fast movers and could lead to a longer period of downpours, raising the possibility of higher rainfall amounts.
There could also be high winds with the storms, especially in the area south of Interstate 78.
Once the front slowly works across New Jersey, the wind will turn gusty from the northeast, bringing in far below temperatures on Friday.
Highs on Friday will be in the mid- to low-70s, about 20 degrees cooler than Thursday and earlier this week.
Highs on Saturday will be around 80 and in the low-80s on Sunday, with lows in the 50s.
Email: mdeak@MyCentralJersey.com
This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: NJ state of emergency declared July 31 ahead of storms, flash floods