Flooding May Close Route 46 Again, Warns One Essex County Town

ESSEX COUNTY, NJ — The town of Fairfield, on the Passaic River, was besieged on Wednesday with flooding for the second time in four weeks — and on Friday evening, they warned residents they might get flooded a third time.

The National Weather Service issued a flood watch for Essex County until 10 a.m. Saturday, with 1-2 inches of rain expected.

Fairfield sent out a new update Saturday saying the rainfall amount was lower than expected, and Route 46 remained open.

However, the river remained at "moderate" flood stage.

'Traffic Issues In Town Possibly Through Monday'

The Fairfield Office of Emergency Management sent this message at 6 p.m. Friday:

We understand that some of the roadways are becoming passable, but this is only temporary as the river will quickly rise after tonight’s rain event. Currently, 1-2 inches of rain is expected and the current forecast is for the Passaic River to rise again, and crest at 22.3 feet on early Sunday morning.

With that said, we are anticipating the full closure of Route 46 East at the Wayne border by some time tomorrow morning. This will cause traffic issues in town possibly through Monday.

Furthermore, residents and businesses that are located in known flood areas may experience similar to or more severe flooding conditions than they did in the December flooding event.

A sandbag station remains open at the Fairfield Public Library on a 24-hour basis.

For the safety of everyone involved, we highly recommend anyone who is considering temporarily evacuating their residence to do so during daylight hours, if possible. Arrangements for evacuations can be made by calling the Fairfield Police Department at 973-227-1400.

To see a list of all affected roadways and precautions that can be taken to protect your property, citizens can go to the Township of Fairfield’s website at www.Fairfieldnj.org. You can also call the Township’s Office of Emergency Management at (201) 522-9267. This phone will remain available throughout this emergency.

The Office of Emergency Management attempts to provide our community with the best available flood information that it can, based upon current and historical data. However, because each potential flood is different, how it impacts areas of town may also be different.

Track Coming Storms With These Links

This NWS map of the United States shows potential and current river flooding.

Track the flood stage of the Passaic River here.

Keep an eye on the radar here.

Check for all watches and warnings in New Jersey here.

See the updated NWS forecasts, watches, and warnings for North Jersey:

• Bergen County here
• Essex County here
• Hudson County here

Come back to Patch for updates.