Flood Warning Issued As Sections Of Passaic River Expected To Overflow

PASSAIC COUNTY, NJ — Periods of heavy rain moving through North Jersey could cause minor flooding in communities along the Passaic River, forecasters said.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood warning beginning Thursday morning for the Passaic River at Pine Brook, which affects communities in Passaic, Essex, and Morris counties. The warning will be in effect until further notice.

Flood stage for the Pine Brook monitoring station is 19.0 feet, and it measured 17.9 feet as of Wednesday at 9:15 a.m. The river is expected to rise above flood stage late Thursday morning and continue rising to a crest of 19.3 feet early Friday morning.

More than a quarter inch of rain has already dropped in some parts of North Jersey as of early Wednesday afternoon, and up to four inches of precipitation are in the cards through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.

Minor flooding is possible in towns including Millington, Chatham, Pine Brook, Singac, and Little Falls, forecasters said.

“Due to multiple previous rain events happening before the weekend time frame, more precipitation brought to the region may exacerbate the potential for flooding,” the NWS said. “Grounds will already be saturated before the weekend with many rivers already elevated. More rain this weekend could push certain rivers in our region into flood stage or cause rivers coming down from flood stage to rise once again.”

A brief dry spell is expected Friday with temperatures in the mid-50s before rain returns Saturday. The silver lining: sunny skies are expected to return to the Garden State just in time for the Monday morning commute.