Flash Flood Warnings, Wind Advisories Cover NJ

The National Weather Service is reporting possible heavy rainfall and high winds throughout Central and North Jersey after 7 p.m. Wednesday.

According to Kristin Kline, meteriologist with the National Weather Service in Mount Holly, there is currently a flash flood watch for Mercer, Middlesex, Hunterdon, Somerset, Sussex, Warren and Morris counties.

This watch is for 10 p.m. Wednesday through 2 a.m. Thursday, with some areas expecting to see an inch of rainfall, and others to see one-and-a-half inches of rain.

"It depends on where the heavier downpours occur and how much thunderstorm activity occurs," Kline said. "We are expecting some scattered and fast-moving showers to move in in the late afternoon and evening hours."

Kline said some smaller streams and creeks could rise to the banks, but they are not expecting flooding at main rivers.

"There will probably be problems where there is poor drainage and road flooding," she said.

Bergen, Passaic and other counties that butt up against the New York metro area are expecting a longer period of rainfall, from about 7 p.m. to 4 a.m. Thursday, according to David Stark, meteriologist with the National Weather Service.

Stark said there is a strong cold front coming through Wednesday night with the potential for heavy rainfall after 7 p.m.

"It will not be raining heavy the whole time, but we are expecting the heaviest during that time period," he said.

Stark said they are expecting about one to two inches of rainfall, with the possibility in some areas of an inch an hour.

"Some of the faster reacting streams could overflow the banks in the shorter period with heavier rainfall," he said. "There is the possiblity for flash flooding."

Aside from the rainfall, heavy winds are also expected throughout the entire region, although some of the heaviest winds are expected in the southern counties, including Ocean, Camden, Gloucester and Atlantic, Kline said.

In the Somerset and Morris region, Kline said, the winds will be picking up, and could reach up to about 45 or 50 miles per hour when the cold front comes through in the late evening and early morning hours of Thursday.

"There is a wind advisory for Sussex, Warren, Morris, Hunterdon and Somerset counties," she said. "We are not expecting the winds to be quite as strong there, but we will have southerly winds getting stronger in the late afternoon."

In Bergen and Passaic counties, Stark said, winds could gust up to 60 miles per hour.

"We also could see some strong winds outside of the rain late this afternoon and evening," he said. "Some of the strongest could be occurring when it is not raining heavily."

The National Weather Service is reporting the possibility for trees coming down, or power lines being brought down by the winds, with the potential for power outages throughout the entire region.

"It could be something for folks to watch out for and plan on in the late hours," Kline said.

Stark said there is also the potential for freezing conditions after the cold front passes on Thursday.

"The rainfall should end, but we still see the potential for freezing conditions as colder air moves in for Thursday," he said. "The wind gusts won't be as strong as tonight though."