Essex County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Essex County: 0.
2. Weak tornadoes were under-recorded before Doppler radar coverage became national in the early 1990s, so earlier decades read low. Ratings use the Fujita scale before February 2007 and the Enhanced Fujita scale after.

Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, 1950 to 2025.

Every storm within 100 miles

1. Tropical storms and hurricanes (34 kt or more, still tropical) at closest approach. Post-tropical remnants with gale-force winds are listed but not counted. Direct: track within 50 miles; near: within 100 miles. Distance is measured to the county boundary for counties and to the city centre for cities, using positions interpolated hourly between HURDAT2 fixes.

National Hurricane Center HURDAT2, 1851 to 2025.

Smoke overhead

1. A smoke day is a date on which a smoke plume traced by NOAA Hazard Mapping System analysts from satellite imagery covered this place's point (the county's population centre or the city centre). Counts here are of medium or heavy smoke. Since 2018 analysts have often drawn light smoke as one area over most of the continent, so light-smoke counts are not comparable from year to year. The plumes show smoke anywhere in the air above, not air quality at the ground, and smoke hidden by cloud is missed.

NOAA Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, 2011 to 2026, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Claims by ZIP code

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026. NOAA Storm Events through 2026.

River crests

River gauges

1. Crests are the highest and the recent crests the National Weather Service lists for each river gauge in the county that has a flood stage, not every flood. Flood categories use each gauge's current flood stages; crests from before levees, dams or channel changes may not be comparable. Crests measured on an old datum are left out of the rankings.

NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge records, retrieved October 30, 2026.

1. The Palmer Drought Severity Index is computed by NOAA each month from the county's average temperature and precipitation, relative to the county's own climate. Zero is normal; -3 or lower is severe drought and -4 or lower extreme drought. It describes the long-term balance of moisture, not water supply or crop losses.

NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, 1895 to September 2026, issued October 6, 2026.

Every earthquake of magnitude 4 or more within 50 miles

1. Earthquakes of magnitude 2.5 or more in the USGS Comprehensive Catalog since 1900. Within 50 miles means the epicentre lies within 50 miles of the county boundary (or inside the county).
2. Small earthquakes were under-recorded before the modern seismic networks of the 1970s and are still missed in remote areas, so early decades read low. Magnitudes are as the catalogue reports them and mix scales (moment, local and body-wave).

USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog, 1900 to present, retrieved October 30, 2026.

Mapped landslides

Mapped by NJ GS (13), NASA (2).

1. Landslides mapped in the USGS compilation of landslide inventories across the United States (version 3.0, 2025), rated probable or better. The compilation joins inventories made by federal and state agencies for different purposes and areas, so the number mapped in a county reflects how closely it has been surveyed as much as how often its slopes fail. An area with few records may simply not have been mapped. Deaths are as recorded in the inventories; a slide listed in two inventories is counted once.

USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0, retrieved October 27, 2026.

More event types since 1996

Costliest events since 1996

1. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$7.3 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Torrential record rainfall, which caused serious widespread urban, small stream, and river flooding, preceded the remnants of Hurricane Floyd, which passed over Western Suffolk County of Long Island from 7 pm to 9 pm on September 16th.Deaths: Flooding caused 3 deaths: 2 in Bergen County and 1 in Passaic County. In Bergen County, a 53 year old man and a 27 year old man drowned in their cars. In Passaic County, an 82 year old man drowned in his house.Property Damage: State-wide, the initial cost estimates for damage to only the public sector was $67 million dollars. For Passaic, Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union Counties, the initial cost estimates were $35.5 million dollars. These…

2. Oct 19, 1996Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   On Friday October 18th, a strong low pressure system developed on a cold front over the DelMarVa Peninsula. With a high pressure system in place across Northern New England, the low intensified as it moved slowly off the Southern New Jersey Coast during the 19th.The difference in pressures caused strong and gusty east winds, which transported abundant moisture from the Atlantic Ocean across the region. Heavy flood producing rains resulted with amounts up to 8 inches. Although the rain ended by midnight on the 20th, river flooding extended until almost midnight on the 21st.Heavy rainfall produced serious flooding of many rivers and small streams as well as serious widespread street…

3. Apr 15, 2007Flood$4.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A Nor���Easter occurred during Sunday and Monday, April 15th and 16th. It brought heavy rain that caused widespread and significant river, stream, and urban flooding of low lying and poor drainage areas. Significant river flooding lasted through April 23rd.|Flooding resulted in 2 deaths and in millions of dollars in property damage. Police found a 79 year old man next to his car on a flooded street in Belleville. A 43 year old woman was found in her flooded car when it was pulled from the Ramapo River in Mahwah. Cost estimates of property damage ranged up to $19 million dollars, as provided by the New Jersey State Office of Emergency Management.|Storm Total Rainfall amounts…

4. Jul 24, 1997Flash Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   As a strong warm front moved slowly north toward the area, a long period of heavy rain occurred over the area. In addition, the area was impacted by the fringe effects from Tropical Storm Danny. Rain bands circulating around the northwest side of "Danny" provided the area with additional significant rainfall overnight.Heavy rainfall (from 4 to 7 inches with isolated higher amounts) caused widespread serious flooding of homes, streets, rivers, streams, and poor drainage areas in Essex, Union, and Bergen Counties. In other areas, heavy rain caused localized and less serious flooding of streets, rivers, streams, and poor drainage areas.In Essex County, Millburn was the hardest hit…

5. Apr 2, 2005Flood, Essex$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   A low pressure system developed in the Gulf Of Mexico and rapidly intensified as it moved north to northeast. The low passed over the Appalachian Mountains and moved slowly west of the local area during Saturday and Sunday, April 2nd and 3rd. Widespread heavy rain along with embedded heavy showers and thunderstorms occurred with this system. Storm Total Rainfall amounts ranged from 1.50 to 3.25 inches. During March 28th and 29th, only 3 to 5 days earlier, another low dumped 1.50 to 3.00 inches of rain across the region as it moved north to northeast along the eastern seaboard. These wet antecedent conditions primed the local area for additional widespread flooding with 3 to 6…

6. Dec 24, 2014Dense Fog, Eastern Essex$1.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Dense fog with visibilities 1/4 mile or less developed and impacted travel at Newark International Airport during a very busy travel time period.

7. Oct 29, 2012High Wind, Eastern Essex$900,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   The FAA observer at Newark Airport estimated a wind gust up to 78 mph at 751 pm. Two females were found dead from Carbon monoxide poisoning. This was a result of a loss of power to their building. A 65 year old female was found dead as she ran out of oxygen. This was due to the loss of power in her home in Jersey City. In West Orange, a 61 year old male ran out of oxygen due to the loss of power to his home. In Newark, a 65 year old male was found dead in his home. There was no power due to the high winds, and cause of death appears to be from an asthma attack.

8. Oct 29, 2012High Wind, Western Essex$900,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   A wind gust up to 72 mph was reported near Fairfield at 741 pm, and a wind gust to 70 mph was measured at Caldwell Airport at 614 pm.

9. Jul 29, 2021Tornado$330,000
   National Weather Service narrative

   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.

10. Apr 3, 2016High Wind, Eastern Essex$100,000
    National Weather Service narrative

    At 8 am, there were multiple reports of trees down in Newark.

1. Storm Events records before 1996 cover only tornadoes, thunderstorm wind and hail. Damage figures are as reported by the National Weather Service at the time, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1950 to 2026, issued October 26, 2026.

All-time high

108°FJul 22, 2011

All-time low

−14°FFeb 9, 1934

Warmest night

86°F2 times, most recently Jul 23, 2011

Coldest day

−1°FJan 10, 1859

Wettest day

15.00 inAug 5, 1843

Snowiest day

25.9 inDec 26, 1947

Hottest year

2023mean 58.8°F

Coldest year

1875mean 48.3°F

Wettest year

201169.91 in

Driest year

196526.09 in

Snowiest season

78.4 in1995-96

Station Newark Liberty International Airport (USW00014734), 6 ft elevation, 6.4 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1843 to October 26, 2026; 100.0% of days in the last 30 years are complete. Records at a single station can differ from a city’s official threaded record, which may combine several stations.

NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily.

This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).

OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries, retrieved October 30, 2026. Statewide declarations are not listed.

Neighbouring counties

• Tornadoes NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database, through 2025.
• Tropical cyclones NOAA National Hurricane Center HURDAT2 (Atlantic; Northeast and Central Pacific), through 2025.
• Wildfire USGS/USFS Monitoring Trends in Burn Severity, through 2026.
• Storm events NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, through 2026.
• Flood insurance OpenFEMA NFIP Redacted Claims v3, refreshed August 4, 2026.
• Declarations OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries v2, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Weather records NOAA NCEI Global Historical Climatology Network Daily, station USW00014734.
• River crests NOAA National Weather Service, National Water Prediction Service river gauges, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Drought NOAA NCEI nClimDiv county Palmer Drought Severity Index, through September 2026.
• Smoke NOAA NESDIS Hazard Mapping System smoke analysis, retrieved October 30, 2026.
• Landslides USGS Landslide Inventories across the United States, version 3.0 (2025).
• Earthquakes USGS ANSS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat), retrieved October 30, 2026.

Joins, thresholds and known limits are set out in the methodology. Found an error? Report it. Page built October 30, 2026.