Sussex County, New Jersey severe weather history spans 471 recorded events between 1974 and 2025. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 64.5% of all recorded events. It ranks #979 nationally and #12 in New Jersey.
471
Recorded events
4
Direct deaths
37
Direct injuries
$186.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Sussex County, New Jersey severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Sussex County, New Jersey severe weather history averages 9.2 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 135 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 19 events fall before 1990 and 452 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Sussex County, New Jersey record is heavy rain, responsible for 2 direct deaths. The costliest is flash flood, with $169.4M in reported property damage. In total, 9 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Sussex County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 304 | 1 | $937K | 78 | 1974–2025 |
| Hail | 52 | 0 | $0 | 1.75 | 1975–2023 |
| Heavy Rain | 34 | 2 | $0 | 0 | 1997–2016 |
| Flash Flood | 30 | 0 | $169.4M | 0 | 1996–2023 |
| Lightning | 25 | 1 | $196K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Flood | 16 | 0 | $15.1M | 0 | 1998–2016 |
| Tornado | 4 | 0 | $800K | F0 | 1989–2019 |
| Wildfire | 4 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2001–2002 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2000–2004 |
Decade by decade
Sussex 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
7 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009-07-29 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 6.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 1981-07-20 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 3.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2019-05-28 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 1.3 mi | Touched down here |
| 1994-06-29 | EF1 | 0 | 0 | 14.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2009-07-29 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.9 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-08-13 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 25.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1989-11-16 | EF0 | 0 | 0 | 0.5 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Sussex County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 11, 2003 | Heavy Rain | WALLPACK CENTER | 2 | 0 | $0 |
| Jul 8, 2025 | Lightning | HARDYSTONVILLE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Aug 16, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | COLESVILLE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| May 6, 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | BRANCHVILLE | 0 | 11 | $0 |
| Aug 4, 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | AUGUSTA | 0 | 6 | $0 |
| Sep 7, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | STILLWATER | 0 | 5 | $0 |
| Jul 3, 2014 | Lightning | HUNTSVILLE | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Aug 2, 2002 | Lightning | ROSS CORNER | 0 | 3 | $0 |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The heavy rain caused widespread flooding in Sussex County. Many roadways were closed. Schools were closed on the 8th in Vernon and Sparta Townships. A few homes were flooded in Andover Township. Sections of New Jersey State Route 23 and 94 were closed in Franklin Township and Stockholm (Hardyston Township). The Flat Brook flooded a few homes in southwest Sussex County.||The Flat Brook at Flatbrookville had moderate flooding and was above its 6 foot flood stage from 903 a.m. EDT on the 7th through 905 a.m. EDT on the 9th. It crested at 8.90 feet at 600 p.m. EDT on the 8th. Entire event rainfall totals included 7.93 inches in Montague Township, 7.79 inches in Wantage Township, 7.79 inches in Sussex, 7.32 inches in Andover, 7.23 inches in Pellettown, 6.89 inches in High Point and 5.53 inches in Flatbrookville.
The heavy rain and flooding caused several major roads to be closed in Sussex County. These included New Jersey State Route 23 in Wantage and Hardyston, New Jersey State Route 94 in Hardyston and Vernon, U.S. Route 206 in Newton and County Route 517 in Hamburg and Hardyston. The Walkill River flooded in Wantage and the Cold Brook flooded in Sussex. Snow did fall over the higher terrain of the county at both the start and end of this event, but accumulations were generally less than one inch.|The Flat Brook at Flatbrookville was above its 6 foot flood stage from 1050 p.m. EDT on the 15th through 245 a.m. EDT on the 17th. It crested at 9.27 feet at 1000 a.m. EDT on the 16th.|Precipitation totals included 6.43 inches in Wantage, 5.48 inches in Newton, 5.08 at Andover Airport, 4.93 at Sussex Airport, and 4.60 inches in Libertyville.|
Lightning struck the electrical box in the front of a log cabin home in Hopatcong and ignited a fire that engulfed the unoccupied dwelling. The fire was under control within a hour, but the interior of the cabin was gutted with extensive smoke and fire damage on both floors.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
145,807
Population (ACS)
$369K
Median home value
28
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Dec 11, 2020 | Hurricane | TROPICAL STORM ISAIAS | 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 Sussex County, New Jersey?
471 events are on record between 1974 and 2025, causing 4 direct deaths and $186.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Sussex County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 304 recorded events — 64.5% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Sussex County?
7 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 6 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Sussex County?
28 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Sussex County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Sussex County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Sussex County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 77 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Sussex 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
- Somerset County 619
- Union County 435
- Salem County 281
- Warren County 467
- Passaic County 394
- Ocean County 792
Cite this page
“Sussex County, New Jersey.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/new-jersey/sussex-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.