Passaic County, New Jersey severe weather history spans 394 recorded events between 1968 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 38.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,278 nationally and #18 in New Jersey.
394
Recorded events
8
Direct deaths
18
Direct injuries
$25.4M
Property damage
The record
What the Passaic County, New Jersey severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Passaic County, New Jersey severe weather history averages 6.9 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 134 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 13 events fall before 1990 and 381 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Passaic County, New Jersey record is flash flood, responsible for 5 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $9.2M 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 Passaic County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 150 | 1 | $298K | 78 | 1973–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 135 | 5 | $9.2M | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 35 | 0 | $5.2M | 0 | 1996–2017 |
| Hail | 34 | 0 | $0 | 1.75 | 1968–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 20 | 1 | $0 | 0 | 1996–2011 |
| Lightning | 15 | 1 | $8.1M | 0 | 1996–2021 |
| Tornado | 3 | 0 | $2.6M | F1 | 1989–1997 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2011–2013 |
Decade by decade
Passaic 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
4 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 3 touched down inside it and 1 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997-09-11 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 0.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-07-10 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 4.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1993-07-10 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 2.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-08-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Passaic County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 14, 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | PASSAIC | 1 | 6 | $2K |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Flash Flood | CLIFTON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 15, 2015 | Flash Flood | CLIFTON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 28, 2011 | Heavy Rain | WANAQUE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 9, 2007 | Lightning | HEWITT | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Jun 24, 2006 | Flash Flood | CLIFTON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Sep 16, 1999 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 1 | 0 | $6.0M |
| Jul 8, 1996 | Flash Flood | CLIFTON | 1 | 0 | $0 |
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.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively High
FEMA NRI risk rating
521,012
Population (ACS)
$460K
Median home value
30
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 5, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | DR |
| Sep 2, 2021 | Hurricane | REMNANTS OF HURRICANE IDA | EM |
| 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 |
| Oct 30, 2012 | Hurricane | HURRICANE SANDY | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Passaic County, New Jersey?
394 events are on record between 1968 and 2025, causing 8 direct deaths and $25.4M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Passaic County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 150 recorded events — 38.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Passaic County?
4 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 Passaic County?
30 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Passaic County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Passaic County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Passaic County as relatively high risk, placing it in the 96 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Passaic 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
- Salem County 281
- Ocean County 792
- Somerset County 619
- Morris County 650
- Sussex County 471
- Monmouth County 730
Cite this page
“Passaic County, New Jersey.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-jersey/passaic-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.