County Hazards

States › New Jersey › 1997

New Jersey, 1997

The year's recorded storm events, federal disaster declarations and flood insurance claims.

755events recorded784 in 1996
7deaths recorded68 injuries
$60Mproperty damage (estimates)
1disaster declarations852 NFIP claims, $7.1M paid
← 19961998 →

NCEI notes that Storm Data is compiled from a variety of sources including the National Weather Service, other federal, state and local agencies, the media and the public; that property and crop damage figures are estimates; and that some events are recorded by NWS forecast zone rather than by county. FEMA notes that NFIP claim records are redacted and aggregated to protect the privacy of policyholders.

Events by hazard

Wind199
Winter159
Heat152
Other64
Cold56
Flood52
Drought33
Hail19
Lightning16
Wildfire3
Tornado2

Includes events recorded by forecast zone. The state's yearly total for 1997 was 755 against 784 in 1996.

Counties with the most recorded events

CountyEvents in 1997
Morris County44
Hunterdon County43
Mercer County43
Burlington County41
Somerset County41
Middlesex County40
Sussex County40
Warren County35
Gloucester County33
Camden County32
Cumberland County28
Salem County25
Bergen County19
Ocean County17
Monmouth County15
Passaic County14
Union County13
Essex County12
Hudson County11
Atlantic County8
Cape May County4

Notable events

DateCountyEvent typeMagnitudeProperty damageDeathsInjuries
18 Jul 1997BergenThunderstorm Wind58 mph—1—
18 Jul 1997BergenThunderstorm Wind58 mph—1—
1 May 1997MonmouthLightning——1—
16 Aug 1997MorrisThunderstorm Wind60 mph—1—
16 Aug 1997SussexThunderstorm Wind69 mph—1—
27 Nov 1997Forecast zoneStrong Wind——1—
16 Aug 1997MonmouthThunderstorm Wind——1—
13 Jul 1997MorrisHeat———15
6 May 1997SussexThunderstorm Wind———11
13 Jul 1997CamdenHeat———10
20 Aug 1997AtlanticFlash Flood—$54,000,000——
25 Jun 1997MercerHeat———4
19 Jul 1997OceanWildfire———4
18 Jul 1997WarrenThunderstorm Wind66 mph——3
24 Jul 1997HunterdonFlash Flood———3
18 Jul 1997MorrisThunderstorm Wind66 mph——3
18 Jul 1997EssexThunderstorm Wind59 mph——2
18 Jul 1997SomersetThunderstorm Wind60 mph——2
16 Aug 1997EssexThunderstorm Wind58 mph——2
11 Sep 1997SussexHeavy Rain———2
16 Jul 1997OceanLightning—$100,000—1
29 Jul 1997AtlanticWildfire———1
16 Aug 1997PassaicThunderstorm Wind58 mph——1
18 Jul 1997HunterdonThunderstorm Wind81 mph——1
6 May 1997MiddlesexThunderstorm Wind———1
16 Aug 1997HunterdonThunderstorm Wind60 mph——1
6 Nov 1997MorrisWildfire———1
24 Jul 1997EssexFlash Flood—$3,000,000——
20 Aug 1997CumberlandFlash Flood—$2,100,000——
20 Aug 1997Cape MayFlash Flood—$500,000——
20 Aug 1997OceanFlash Flood—$500,000——
18 Jul 1997MiddlesexLightning—$100,000——
17 Aug 1997GloucesterThunderstorm Wind74 mph$75,000——
11 Sep 1997PassaicTornadoF1$53,000——
13 Aug 1997MonmouthTornadoF0$50,000——

Up to 40 events with deaths, injuries, damage of $50,000 or more, or a tornado rating, ranked by deaths, injuries and damage.

Federal disaster declarations in 1997

DeclaredNumberTypeIncidentTitleCounties
23 Sep 1997DR-1189Major disasterSevere StormSevere Storms And Flooding1

Flood insurance claims with a 1997 date of loss

852 NFIP claims, 623 of them paid, for $7,117,495.

Sources: NOAA NCEI Storm Events through 30 Jun 2026; OpenFEMA DisasterDeclarationsSummaries v2 (1 Oct 2026); OpenFEMA NfipClaims v3 (8 Sep 2026). Built 1 Oct 2026.