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Ocean County, New Jersey severe weather history spans 792 recorded events between 1958 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 51.4% of all recorded events. It ranks #300 nationally and #3 in New Jersey.
792
Recorded events
10
Direct deaths
87
Direct injuries
$34.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Ocean County, New Jersey severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Ocean County, New Jersey severe weather history averages 11.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 259 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 59 events fall before 1990 and 733 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Ocean County, New Jersey record is lightning, responsible for 5 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $12.2M in reported property damage. In total, 12 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Ocean County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 407 | 1 | $1.2M | 81 | 1958–2026 |
| Hail | 89 | 0 | $6K | 2.75 | 1966–2024 |
| Lightning | 78 | 5 | $1.8M | 0 | 1997–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 74 | 0 | $7.1M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 69 | 0 | $500K | 0 | 1996–2022 |
| Flood | 26 | 0 | $11.0M | 0 | 1997–2018 |
| Tornado | 20 | 0 | $12.2M | F3 | 1958–2023 |
| Rip Current | 9 | 4 | $0 | 0 | 1998–2005 |
| Funnel Cloud | 8 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2018 |
| Wildfire | 8 | 0 | $700K | 0 | 1997–2002 |
| Waterspout | 3 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 1999–2001 |
| Dust Devil | 1 | 0 | $500 | 0 | 2014–2014 |
Decade by decade
Ocean 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
23 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 touched down inside it and 4 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983-07-21 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-04-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2023-04-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-07-29 | EF2 | 0 | 8 | 4.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1999-08-20 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 0.4 mi | Touched down here |
| 1982-06-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2021-07-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2020-08-04 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 2010-09-16 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-06-21 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Ocean County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 16, 2025 | Lightning | JACKSON | 1 | 14 | $0 |
| Aug 30, 2021 | Lightning | SEASIDE PARK | 1 | 6 | $0 |
| May 3, 1998 | Lightning | WHITING | 1 | 5 | $0 |
| Sep 7, 2005 | Rip Current | PT PLEASANT | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 30, 2001 | Lightning | ISLAND BEACH | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jul 1, 2000 | Rip Current | ISLAND BEACH | 1 | 1 | $0 |
| Jun 23, 2024 | Lightning | SEASIDE HGTS | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 22, 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | RIDGEWAY | 1 | 0 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A severe thunderstorm knocked down a few trees in the northeast part of Manchester Township and resulted in a fatality. A 69-year-old man was killed on County Route 571 in front of the Ridgeway Elementary School when two trees fell onto his vehicle. A police officer was injured trying to extricate the man from the vehicle.
The combination of flooding rains and tropical storm force wind gusts closed thirty-five roadways and about fifteen bridges in Ocean County including parts of New Jersey State Routes 33, 35, 36 and 79 and U.S. Route 9. Plumsted Township was hit hard as flooding divided the township in half as the Crosswicks Creek flooded. Three families were stranded after a roadway was washed away. Neighboring Jackson Township had eight bridges and culverts washed out. In the eastern part of the county, Toms River flooded.||The North Branch of the Metedeconk River at Lakewood had major and record breaking flooding. It was above its 7 foot flood stage from 1120 p.m. EDT on the 27th through 707 a.m. EDT on the 30th. It crested at 11.40 feet at 515 p.m. EDT on the 28th. Event rainfall totals included 9.10 inches in Jackson Township, 8.38 inches in Whitesville, 7.33 inches in Brick Township and 7.10 inches in Jackson Township.
The heavy rain and Metedeconk River flooding forced road closures in Brick Township. Flooding along the Toms River caused road closures in Island Heights Borough. The North Branch of the Metedeconk at Lakewood was above its 7 foot flood stage from 939 p.m. EDT on the 15th through 745 p.m. EDT on the 17th. It crested at 8.28 feet at 1200 p.m. EDT on the 16th.|Precipitation totals included 3.76 inches in Beachwood, 3.04 inches in Point Pleasant, 2.65 inches in Brick, 1.90 inches in Berkeley, 1.76 inches in Seaside Heights, and 1.38 inches in Harvey Cedars.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
654,362
Population (ACS)
$398K
Median home value
33
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 24, 2025 | Fire | JONES ROAD FIRE | FM |
| Sep 5, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | EM |
| Apr 28, 2021 | Snowstorm | SEVERE WINTER STORM AND SNOWSTORM | DR |
| Mar 25, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Ocean County, New Jersey?
792 events are on record between 1958 and 2026, causing 10 direct deaths and $34.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Ocean County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 407 recorded events — 51.4% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Ocean County?
23 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Ocean County?
33 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Ocean County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Ocean County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Ocean County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 96 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Ocean 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
- Morris County 650
- Passaic County 394
- Salem County 281
- Monmouth County 730
- Somerset County 619
- Middlesex County 611
Cite this page
“Ocean County, New Jersey.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-jersey/ocean-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.