Flooding in Montclair Wreaks Havoc

Montclair resident Risa Pappas said late Wednesday that the parking lot at her apartment building on Orange Road is completely flooded.

"I was able to get out and park on the street but it's easily a foot deep in some places," Pappas said. "I hope I don't get ticketed for parking in the street but I'd rather a ticket than several hundred dollars worth of water damage."

She's not the only one seeing the results of a string of unusually rainy days.

Some parts of New Jersey have seen between three and four inches of rain since Sunday. Indeed, a flash flood warning remained in effect until 6:30 p.m. today in Essex County, after which time the threat was expected to diminish.

Looking ahead, scattered thunderstorms were expected to continue Thursday with a 60 percent chance of rain.

Isolated thunderstorms were expected also on Friday and Saturday with the reward being a sunny Sunday with only a 10 percent chance of rain and highs close to 80 degrees.

The weather's so bad that the sing-along Sound of Music planned Friday evening at Presby Iris Gardens in Montclair already has been postponed until June 3.

“A chance remains over the next few days for some locally heavy downpours to initiate some flash flooding of roadways and streams,” said Dr. David A. Robinson, the state’s climatologist.

The New Jersey Office of Emergency Management warns that flooding could continue in some areas through Friday.

To stay informed of potential flood threats, or to keep track of current weather forecasts and alerts, stay tuned to media outlets and use these online resources and social media tools:

• The official website of the National Weather Servic  
• New Jersey Office of Emergency Management Website   
• NJ Alert text messaging system     
• NJOEM on Facebook 
• NJOEM Twitter