Hunterdon County

Every recorded tornado

1. Injuries and deaths are for the tornado’s whole path, which may extend beyond the county. Deaths recorded within Hunterdon 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 (29).

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. Aug 28, 2011Flood$50.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   In Hunterdon County, flooding rains and strong winds forced the closure of dozens of roads and bridges in the county and included New Jersey State Routes 12 and 31 and U.S. Route 202. Three dams were also compromised. Flood related evacuations occurred in Califon, Flemington, Franklin, High Bridge, Lambertville, Lebanon, Raritan and Readington. ||The Delaware River at Frenchtown had minor flooding and was above its 16 foot flood stage from 249 a.m. EDT on the 29th through 1203 a.m EDT on the 30th. It crested at 16.68 feet at 815 a.m. EDT on the 29th. Farther downstream, the Delaware River at Stockton had minor flooding and was above its 18 foot flood stage from 417 a.m. EDT on the…

2. Oct 29, 2012High Wind, Hunterdon$40.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Post Tropical Storm Sandy was the costliest natural disaster by far in the state of New Jersey. Record breaking high tides and wave action combined with sustained winds as high as 60 to 70 mph with wind gusts as high as around 90 mph to batter the state. Statewide, Sandy caused an estimated 29.4 billion dollars in damage, destroyed or significantly damaged 30,000 homes and businesses, affected 42,000 additional structures and was responsible directly or indirectly for 38 deaths. A new temporary inlet formed in Mantaloking (Ocean County) where some homes were swept away. About 2.4 million households in the state lost power. It would take two weeks for power to be fully restored to…

3. Apr 2, 2005Flood, Hunterdon$30.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   For the second time within seven months a greater than 50-year storm affected the Delaware River Basin and its tributaries. But, this time flooding also extended into the Passaic River Basin. In all, about 6,000 persons were evacuated along the Delaware and Passaic River Basins in New Jersey with about 3,200 homes damaged. New Jersey Acting Governor Richard J. Codey declared a state of emergency on April 3rd. Many homes and businesses that were flooded because of the remnants of Hurricane Ivan along the Delaware River, were flooded again. The crests along the Delaware River were even higher than in September 2004 and were the highest crests since 1955. In many places, it was the…

4. Sep 16, 1999Flash Flood$8.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Hurricane Floyd battered New Jersey (especially the central and northern thirds) on September 16th and brought with it torrential and in some areas, unprecedented and record breaking rains and damaging winds. The hurricane will go down in history as the greatest natural disaster to ever effect the state of New Jersey to date. Preliminary damage estimates for the entire state were 1.1 billion dollars hitting Bergen and Somerset Counties the hardest. Manville and Bound Brook were hardest hit within Somerset County. Six persons died in the state; all drownings: two each in Somerset and Bergen Counties, one in Passaic County and one in Salem County. Hundreds were injured. The…

5. Jun 28, 2006Flood$7.5 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Several days of heavy rain throughout the Delaware River Basin culminated with major flooding along the Delaware River from the 28th through the 30th. It was the fourth highest crest on record for the Delaware River along Hunterdon County. The crest was slightly lower than the April 2005 flood. President George W. Bush declared Hunterdon County a disaster area. One man in Lambertville drowned when he walked into flood waters. Sporadic periods of heavy rain started on the 23rd, but the most widespread and heaviest rain fell from the night of the 27th into the morning of the 28th. Event totals in Hunterdon County averaged four to eight inches, but storm totals exceeded 10 inches in…

6. Sep 1, 2021Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Widespread flash flooding occurred in Hunterdon County with numerous road closures. There were over 300 water rescues in the county. A total of six flood related fatalities were reported, one in Milford, one in East Amwell Township, and four in Raritan Township. Many buildings and homes were damaged by the flood waters. Most waterways in the county overflowed their banks, including the South Branch of the Raritan River, the Neshanic River and Spruce Run.

7. Aug 2, 2009Flash Flood$5.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   Thunderstorms with torrential downpours caused considerable flash flooding of smaller streams and led to flooding along the South Branch of the Raritan River. Numerous roads were flooded and three bridges had to be closed. Hardest hit were Clinton and Tewksbury Township. ||In Clinton, the Beaver Brook flooded for the second time this summer. It flooded Main Street, East Main Street, Lehigh Street and Old Highway 22. Some stores and their basements were flooded. The flooding brook carried benches, newspaper bins, garbage dumpsters and even a couple of cars. More than two dozen basements were flooded. In Clinton Township, Camp Carr was evacuated. In Tewksbury Township, the Rockaway…

8. Apr 15, 2007Flood$3.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   The South Branch of the Raritan River flooded into Clinton Township. There were voluntary evacuations along Lower Central Street. Four roads were closed. One vehicle accidently drove into the river, but the driver was able to get out of the vehicle and out of the river. In Clinton Borough, the Hunterdon Museum of Art had 3 to 4 inches of water and mud on its first floor. The parking lot was also damaged. Across the street, the Red Mill Museum Village also had water and mud on its first floor. In Raritan Township, about a dozen people evacuated from the Darts Mills Grove section. In Stockton, the school was flooded into the first floor. In Lebanon Township, flooding along both the…

9. Sep 8, 2011Flood$2.0 million
   National Weather Service narrative

   One hundred and seven homes were damaged by the flooding associated with the remnants of Lee in Hunterdon County. Three homes suffered major damage, eighty-nine minor damage and fifteen more were affected by flood waters. The New Hope-Lambertville Bridge crossing the Delaware River was closed after a large tree wedged underneath it. The bridge was re-opened on the 9th.||The Delaware River at Frenchtown had moderate flooding, its 8th highest crest on record and highest crest since June 29, 2006. It was above its 16 foot flood stage from 216 a.m. EDT on the 8th through 200 a.m EDT on the 10th. It crested at 19.02 feet at 545 a.m. EDT on the 9th. Farther downstream, the Delaware…

10. Oct 19, 1996Flash Flood$1.0 million
    National Weather Service narrative

    Rain, very heavy at times toward noon on the 19th, caused considerable highway and poor drainage flooding as well as flooding of some of the smaller creeks in Hunterdon County. Damage estimates were around one million dollars. Evacuations occurred along the Raritan River in Califon. Cars were stalling out in flood waters around Flemington. The hardest hit municipalities were Clinton, Lambertville, Milford and Readington. The school in Lambertville sustained extensive damage when several inches of water, mud and debris covered its floor. A culvert under North Main Street failed. It normally carries runoff from Music Mountain, but debris clogged the culvert, causing the creek behind…

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°FAug 7, 1918

All-time low

−18°F2 times, most recently Jan 22, 1984

Warmest night

83°FJul 20, 1949

Coldest day

1°FJan 20, 1994

Wettest day

8.49 inSep 17, 1999

Snowiest day

24.0 inFeb 4, 1961

Hottest year

1931mean 55.4°F

Coldest year

1967mean 48.8°F

Wettest year

201176.45 in

Driest year

196530.86 in

Snowiest season

89.4 in1960-61

Station Flemington 5 Nnw (USC00283029), 265 ft elevation, 0.8 miles from the population centre. Daily records from 1898 to October 27, 2026; 96.5% 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 USC00283029.
• 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.