National Weather Service issues flood watch for most of North Jersey for Wednesday

A flood watch is in effect for portions of New Jersey on Wednesday in the afternoon until late in the evening, according to the National Weather Service.

In northern New Jersey areas including Bergen, Passaic, Morris, Essex, Hudson and counties could see flooding due to excessive rainfall that occurred throughout the day.

Other counties such as, Union, Middlesex and Somerset are also on flood watch.

By the end of Wednesday, one to three inches of rainfall is expected with higher amounts in some areas. Peak rain fall is expected between 6 p.m. on Wednesday until 3 a.m. on Thursday.

The NWS says excessive runoff may result in the flooding of rivers creeks, streams and flood-prone or low-lying locations.

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The Mahwah River in Ramapo and Saddle River in Lodi are expected to come close to flooding levels by Thursday. The Passaic River by Little Falls is expected to potentially reach flooding levels on Thursday some time in the morning or afternoon.

So far, the NWS has only issued a flood watch and not a flood warning for New Jersey. A flood warning is issued when flooding is occurring and imminent while a flood watch is issued when conditions are favorable for flooding, with flooding being possible but not definite.