Essex County, New Jersey severe weather history spans 400 recorded events between 1957 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 39.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,255 nationally and #17 in New Jersey.
400
Recorded events
7
Direct deaths
39
Direct injuries
$20.3M
Property damage
The record
What the Essex County, New Jersey severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Essex County, New Jersey severe weather history averages 5.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 123 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 34 events fall before 1990 and 366 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Essex County, New Jersey record is flash flood, responsible for 4 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $15.3M in reported property damage. In total, 8 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Essex County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 158 | 1 | $414K | 70 | 1957–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 135 | 4 | $15.3M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Hail | 33 | 0 | $0 | 1.75 | 1974–2021 |
| Flood | 28 | 1 | $4.0M | 0 | 1996–2016 |
| Lightning | 23 | 1 | $202K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 19 | 0 | $10K | 0 | 1996–2009 |
| Tornado | 3 | 0 | $355K | F1 | 1973–2021 |
| High Wind | 1 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2001 |
Decade by decade
Essex County, New Jersey severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
3 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 touched down inside it and 0 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973-06-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-07-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-11-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Essex County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flash Flood | IRVINGTON | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 26, 2009 | Lightning | NEWARK HGTS | 1 | 3 | $1K |
| Jun 27, 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | WATSESSING | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flash Flood | MAPLEWOOD | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flash Flood | BRILLS JCT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 15, 2007 | Flood | (CDW)ESX CO ARPT CAL | 1 | 0 | $4.0M |
| Oct 18, 1990 | Thunderstorm Wind | 0 | 20 | $0 | |
| Jun 22, 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | NEWARK | 0 | 2 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A car carrying two Seton Hall University students was overcome by flood waters on Main Avenue near Benson Avenue in Passaic. The body of one of the students, a 21 year old man, was later found in Newark after being swept down the Passaic River.
A 55 year old man was found dead on Ridgewood Road in the vicinity of Berkeley Road in Maplewood due to flooding. He is believed to have been swept away by flood waters while attempting to remove debris from drains in the area.
Brief EF0 Tornado confirmed by NWS Storm Survey. Tornado likely touched down inside the Montclair Golf Club and traveled northeast. Three full trees and 10 to 20 large limbs were felled. One tree knocked house off foundation at 22 Sylvan Road with home likely totaled as per Essex County Emergency Management. Also a large tree fell on a house on Park Avenue. Total storm damage estimated to be 330 K, with 300 K estimated for the totaling of the 22 Sylvan Road home.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
863,002
Population (ACS)
$524K
Median home value
33
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | EM |
| Dec 11, 2020 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | DR |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 8, 2018 | Severe Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Essex County, New Jersey?
400 events are on record between 1957 and 2025, causing 7 direct deaths and $20.3M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Essex County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 158 recorded events — 39.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Essex County?
3 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 3 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Essex County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Essex County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Essex County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Essex County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 98 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Essex County, New Jersey severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Cumberland County 420
- Gloucester County 553
- Cape May County 342
- Hudson County 260
- Camden County 638
- Hunterdon County 582
Cite this page
“Essex County, New Jersey.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-jersey/essex-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.