Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Stirling, NJ

The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Plainfield, NJ, 7 miles southeast of Stirling at 90 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 24°F. July is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.1 inches; the year adds up to 48.7 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. June to November, the hurricane season months, bring 53% of the year's precipitation (25.7 of 48.7 inches); the other six months are drier. September has brought the most of the 43 tropical systems that passed within 75 miles (17); a normal September there has highs of 79°F and 4.3 inches of precipitation. Highs reach 90°F on about 29 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 103 nights a year. Snowfall averages 21.4 inches a year, most of it in February. That 48.7 inches is more than at 28 of the 51 New Jersey stations used on this site (55%). Basking Ridge, 4 miles west, has its own station (Somerville 4 NW, NJ): 46.8 inches a year, 1.9 less than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 88°F.

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 577 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Stirling: 390 thunderstorm wind reports, 120 flash floods, 49 floods, 14 lightning strikes and 4 heavy rain events. They killed 9 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $113.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 92 mph, on July 1, 2013. July has had the most flash floods, 49 of 120. Of the 455 New Jersey cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 269 have had fewer than Stirling.

Flood insurance policyholders in Stirling's ZIP code 07980 have filed 159 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $3.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Irene in 2011: 31 claims (19% of all) and $1.1 million, then Hurricane Floyd in 1999 with 27 and March 2010 Nor'easter in 2010 with 23. 87% 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, 246 have fewer than Stirling.