135
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
0
Direct injuries
$9.2M
Property damage
Flash Flood in Passaic County, New Jersey: 135 recorded events between 1996 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 0. That places the county #93 nationally and #3 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Flash Flood in Passaic County, New Jersey: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for flash flood in Passaic County is the 2010s, when 55 of the county's 135 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Passaic County archive, flash flood makes up 34.3% of all recorded severe weather across 8 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #93 for this hazard and #3 within New Jersey, putting it in the 97.0 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Aug is the peak month for flash flood in Passaic County with 49 recorded events, while Mar is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2, 2021 | CLIFTON | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 15, 2015 | CLIFTON | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 24, 2006 | CLIFTON | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 16, 1999 | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 1 | 0 | $6.0M |
| Jul 8, 1996 | CLIFTON | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 30, 2025 | ALLWOOD | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 18, 2024 | ALLWOOD | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 18, 2024 | CLIFTON | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 18, 2024 | PASSAIC | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 18, 2024 | HALEDON | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 18, 2024 | HALEDON | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 18, 2024 | HASKELL | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 6, 2024 | LAKE VIEW | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 6, 2024 | ALLWOOD | 0 | $0 |
| Dec 18, 2023 | TOTOWA | 0 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from Passaic County
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Passaic River at Dundee Dam in Clifton rose above its minor flood stage of 4.5 feet at 10:15pm EDT and crested at a height of 4.98 feet at 12:45am EDT September 2nd. The river then fell back below flood stage at 3:45am EDT on September 2nd. Flooding from the Passaic River resulted in three fatalities. A 70 year old man died when his car became stranded in 6 feet of water at the intersection of Passaic Avenue and Lackawana Place in Passaic.
Two men from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were in the Weasel Brook inspecting the President Street Bridge in the town of Passaic when it started raining profusely. The heavy rains caused the water level to rise from several inches to approximately eleven feet in minutes sweeping both men away. One man was rescued, but the other was not and was found deceased in the Passaic River the following day.
A man fell into a swiftly flowing tributary of the Passaic River around 8 pm EDT and was killed. Heavy rains of up to 3 inches had fallen in the area during Friday and Saturday (the 23rd and 24th) which caused the stream to run more swiftly than normal.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many flash flood events are on record in Passaic County, New Jersey?
135 flash flood events are recorded in Passaic County between 1996 and 2025, causing 5 direct deaths.
What is the strongest flash flood recorded in Passaic County?
The strongest flash flood on record in Passaic County measured 0.
Where does the flash flood data for Passaic County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Flash Flood in Passaic County, New Jersey.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-jersey/passaic-county/flash-flood/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.