Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Rockaway, NJ

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Boonton 1 SE, NJ, 6 miles southeast of Rockaway at 280 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 85°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 38°F and 21°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.8 inches; the year adds up to 49.3 inches over 83 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 54% of the year's precipitation (26.6 of 49.3 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 35 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (14); a normal September there has highs of 77°F and 4.7 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 124 nights a year. That 49.3 inches is more than at 31 of the 51 New Jersey stations used on this site (61%). Lake Hopatcong, 6 miles northwest, has its own station (Andover Aeroflex Airport, NJ): 48.8 inches a year, 0.5 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 85°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 285 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Rockaway: 198 thunderstorm wind reports, 35 floods, 29 flash floods, 14 lightning strikes and 9 heavy rain events. They killed 2 people and injured 12, and the NWS estimated $3.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 72 mph, on September 14, 2016. August has had the most flash floods, 10 of 29. Of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 109 have had fewer than Rockaway.

Flood insurance policyholders in Rockaway's ZIP code 07866 have filed 130 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Irene in 2011: 41 claims (32% of all) and $1.2 million, then Hurricane Floyd in 1999 with 25 and Not a named storm in 1979 with 12. 72% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 395 New Jersey cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 231 have fewer than Rockaway.