The monster storm that caused devastating flooding and widespread destruction in New Jersey also shattered a longtime rainfall record at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Newark was drenched with 8.41 inches of rain when the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida swept across Essex County on Wednesday — the most rain ever recorded on any single calendar day since the records began in 1931, according to data from the National Weather Service’s regional office in New York.
The previous record was 6.73 inches, which fell on Nov. 8, 1977.
Newark normally gets an average of 3.82 inches of rain throughout the entire month of September, and just 0.12 inches of rain on Sept. 1.
That means the state’s largest city has already doubled its average September rainfall total — on the very first day of the month. The massive deluge on Wednesday also makes this the fourth wettest September on record in Newark with plenty of days left for more rain, according to weather service data.
Stranded cars sits in flood water on Chestnut Street in Newark on Thursday, Sept. 2, 2021, the day after the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida dumped record amounts of rain on the city.John Jones | For NJ Advance Media
Newark’s wettest September was 10.28 inches in 1944, followed by 9.38 inches in 1999 and 9.00 inches in 1975.
But this is no normal year, with one storm after another pounding our region during the past few months. Ida’s intense showers and thunderstorms arrived shortly after Newark had its third wettest summer on record.
In June, July and August, the city was saturated with a total of 20.46 inches of rain. Its all-time summer rainfall record is 23.57 inches, set in 2011, the year Tropical Storm Irene struck New Jersey and dumped big amounts of rain.
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at [email protected].