Where the month happened
Each numbered area is one of the stories below, drawn over the counties its warnings covered.
- Flash flooding in the Mid-Atlantic, Aug 27
- Flash flooding in the Mid-Atlantic, Aug 3
- Tornadoes and severe storms in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania, Aug 20
The same areas as a list
- 1. Flash flooding in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, August 27 · Water · 20 counties drawn
- 2. Flash flooding in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, August 3 · Water · 36 counties drawn
- 3. Tornadoes and severe storms in the Mid-Atlantic, August 20 · Storms · 16 counties drawn
When it happened
- Fewer warnings
- More warnings
- Impact on people reported
View as a table
| Day | Warnings | Story on the map | Documented impact on people |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 1 | 0 | — | — |
| Aug 2 | 3 | — | — |
| Aug 3 | 50 | 2 | Yes |
| Aug 4 | 0 | — | — |
| Aug 5 | 16 | — | — |
| Aug 6 | 16 | — | — |
| Aug 7 | 66 | — | — |
| Aug 8 | 33 | — | — |
| Aug 9 | 2 | — | — |
| Aug 10 | 13 | — | — |
| Aug 11 | 10 | — | — |
| Aug 12 | 4 | — | — |
| Aug 13 | 1 | — | — |
| Aug 14 | 0 | — | — |
| Aug 15 | 0 | — | — |
| Aug 16 | 0 | — | — |
| Aug 17 | 4 | — | — |
| Aug 18 | 0 | — | — |
| Aug 19 | 1 | — | — |
| Aug 20 | 46 | 3 | Yes |
| Aug 21 | 6 | — | — |
| Aug 22 | 0 | — | — |
| Aug 23 | 7 | — | — |
| Aug 24 | 0 | — | — |
| Aug 25 | 0 | — | — |
| Aug 26 | 2 | — | — |
| Aug 27 | 74 | 1 | Yes |
| Aug 28 | 21 | — | — |
| Aug 29 | 0 | — | — |
| Aug 30 | 0 | — | — |
| Aug 31 | 0 | — | — |
1Flooding displaced Rowan students and washed out Route 322 in Mullica Hill
AUG 27, 11 AM EDT
First warning
New Castle County, Delaware
AUG 27, 12 PM EDT
Considerable threat
Camden County, New Jersey
AUG 28, 3 AM EDT
Last warning
Burlington County, New Jersey
- Flash flooding — coloured as water. 20 counties in the Mid-Atlantic, Aug 27.
In Glassboro on August 27, floodwater broke through the basement doors of an off-campus home where Rowan students were living, within the flood area marked 1 on the map. “Door completely flies off right toward us. It was crazy. You can see how high the water got,” sophomore James Didomenico told 6abc Philadelphia.
The day's first flash flood warning went out for New Castle County, Delaware, at 11:38 a.m. By 12:41 p.m., a warning covering Camden County carried a considerable damage threat. The warnings identified the danger developing across the region, but do not establish when individual households received notice.
In Glassboro, flooding disrupted Rowan's move-in day and displaced some students, according to Rutgers University's New Jersey State Climate Office. It reported no displacement count. Gloucester County Emergency Management spokesperson Andrew Halter told CNN that rescuers carried out a large number of water rescues around Glassboro and Harrison Township that day.
The off-campus damage was distinct from conditions in university housing. Rowan said several campus buildings took on water that day; 6abc reported that water reached a residence hall lobby but no student rooms were damaged. The university told people to avoid flooded areas and buildings with water intrusion while police and facilities personnel addressed affected locations. Rowan remained open and said evening move-in activities would continue.
In Mullica Hill, part of Route 322 washed away during the flooding, leaving the road impassable, the state climate office reported. The last flood warning in Burlington County ended early the following morning. No deaths or injuries were reported in the coverage reviewed, including reports from Rowan, CNN, 6abc and the state climate office.
2Water entered Pennsauken homes as a driver needed rescue in Cherry Hill
AUG 2, 11 PM EDT
First warning
Warren County, New Jersey
AUG 3, 10 AM EDT
Considerable threat
Burlington County, New Jersey
AUG 3, 5 PM EDT
Last warning
Burlington County, New Jersey
- Flash flooding — coloured as water. 36 counties in the Mid-Atlantic, Aug 3.
On Pennsauken's 44th Street on August 3, floodwater entered basements, residents told 6abc Philadelphia. Repeated downpours brought repeated water intrusion into homes.
The first flash flood warning had gone out for Warren County the night before. By 10:36 a.m., a warning covering Burlington County carried a considerable damage threat. The flooding affecting Pennsauken was part of the regional event marked 2 on the map.
Residents estimated that at least six homes on the street were affected that day, according to 6abc. Pennsauken resident Elisa McNair described the difficulty of getting ahead of the water: “Every time it downpoured it started back up again, so three times today it came on and never stopped”.
In Cherry Hill that day, police rescued a driver stranded in floodwater on Route 38, 6abc reported. The road reopened after street sweepers removed debris and crews cleared overwhelmed drains. Reopening depended on that work, not simply on the rain easing.
Farther north in Princeton, Quaker Road was closed until further notice because of flooding that day, Planet Princeton reported. The last flood warning in Burlington County ended at 5:15 p.m. No deaths or injuries were reported in the coverage reviewed, including reports from 6abc, Planet Princeton and the Bucks County Courier Times.
3A brief tornado touched down near Estell Manor
AUG 20, 4 PM EDT
First warning
Atlantic County, New Jersey
AUG 20, 7 PM EDT
Tornado seen
Cape May County, New Jersey
AUG 20, 7 PM EDT
Last warning
Atlantic County, New Jersey
- Tornadoes and severe storms — coloured as storms. 16 counties in New Jersey, Delaware and Pennsylvania, Aug 20.
Near Estell Manor on August 20, a tornado briefly touched down in inaccessible woods or marsh, within the storm area marked 3 on the map. Investigators found no damage definitively attributable to it, Shore Local Newsmagazine reported. No deaths or injuries were reported in the coverage reviewed for this storm.
The first tornado warning went out for Atlantic County at 4:38 p.m. A weather service warning from Mount Holly described potential impacts: “Expect considerable tree damage. Damage is likely to mobile homes, roofs, and outbuildings.” That was a forecast of possible damage, not a finding about what the Estell Manor tornado left behind.
At 7:08 p.m., a tornado warning covering Cape May County identified an observed tornado rather than one indicated only by radar. Shore Local reported that a waterspout near North Cape May prompted a warning for nearby shore communities, but no subsequent reports indicated that it reached land or caused damage.
The wider storm also brought flooding to interior Atlantic and Cumberland counties that afternoon, the NJ Weather Network reported. Afternoon rainfall totals reached 4.95 inches at Mays Landing and 5.94 inches at Estell Manor.
In Ocean City that evening, storms drove people indoors from the boardwalk, though some visitors returned after conditions improved, 6abc Philadelphia reported. The manager of Manco & Manco Pizza told the station that the weather shortened the dinner rush and made deliveries difficult. In Atlantic County, the last severe thunderstorm warning ended at 7:50 p.m.
How BePrepared watches this, all year
This report exists because we already watch the whole country. Every couple of minutes, around the clock, we read the emergency alerts going out across all fifty states and territories, and we keep them. A month of that record is what you have just read.
The national picture is the part most people never see. What matters to you is much smaller: which of these warnings would have reached your street, and what the risks around you look like on an ordinary day.
That is what BePrepared is for. Put in your ZIP code and you get the picture for where you live — the flood, fire and storm history around you, the dams and facilities nearby, and a plan for your household rather than a general one. With a free account you can keep a watchlist of the places you care about, like your home, your parents' address, and your kids' school, and set what you want to hear about.
Where it hit hardest
Counted as distinct warnings, and as the days a county spent under one. A county is the smallest area these warnings describe.
Warnings by region
- Mid-Atlantic115
- Northeast15
Most days under a warning
- New Castle County, DE12 days
- Bucks County, PA11 days
- Gloucester County, NJ11 days
- Camden County, NJ11 days
- Montgomery County, PA11 days
- Philadelphia County, PA11 days
- Delaware County, PA11 days
- Burlington County, NJ10 days
Where the warnings landed
- Flooding
- Severe storms
- Extreme heat
- Everything else
Flooding931 warnings · 45 counties
Severe storms623 warnings · 48 counties
Extreme heat168 warnings · 38 counties
Tornadoes50 warnings · 19 counties
View as a table
| County | State | Warnings | Most frequent kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bucks | PA | 84 | Flooding |
| Burlington | NJ | 74 | Flooding |
| Bergen | NJ | 73 | Flooding |
| Gloucester | NJ | 72 | Flooding |
| Mercer | NJ | 66 | Flooding |
| Camden | NJ | 61 | Flooding |
| Essex | NJ | 60 | Flooding |
| Somerset | NJ | 58 | Flooding |
| Warren | NJ | 57 | Flooding |
| Salem | NJ | 57 | Severe storms |
| Middlesex | NJ | 56 | Flooding |
| Passaic | NJ | 56 | Flooding |
| Hudson | NJ | 56 | Flooding |
| Montgomery | PA | 54 | Flooding |
| Union | NJ | 54 | Flooding |
| Atlantic | NJ | 54 | Severe storms |
| Hunterdon | NJ | 51 | Flooding |
| Monmouth | NJ | 51 | Severe storms |
| Philadelphia | PA | 50 | Flooding |
| New Castle | DE | 48 | Flooding |
The human record
What it cost, and who reported it
These figures are not ours. Our archive records that a warning was issued, never what happened next, so every number here comes from the organization named beside it and was retrieved on September 22, 2026.
Damage
at least six homes affected, according to residents
Residents of 44th Street in Pennsauken estimated that at least six homes were affected by flooding on August 3, 2026, with water entering basements around 5 a.m.
Source: 6abc Philadelphia (WPVI-TV)
In their words
Pennsauken resident Elisa McNair described repeated water intrusion during the August 3 downpours to 6abc Philadelphia.
“Every time it downpoured it started back up again, so three times today it came on and never stopped”
Elisa McNair, Pennsauken resident whose home experienced flooding, to 6abc Philadelphia (WPVI-TV) Source: 6abc Philadelphia (WPVI-TV)
Rescue
one driver rescued
Police rescued a driver stranded in floodwater on Route 38 in Cherry Hill on August 3.
Source: 6abc Philadelphia (WPVI-TV)
Response
Route 38 reopened after street sweepers removed debris and road crews cleared overwhelmed drains.
Source: 6abc Philadelphia (WPVI-TV)
Closed
Quaker Road in Princeton was closed until further notice because of flooding on August 3.
Source: Planet Princeton
Closed
62customers affected by five outages
Planet Princeton reported five power outages affecting 62 Princeton customers on Monday afternoon, with restoration expected by 9:30 p.m.
Source: Planet Princeton
Closed
Princeton Theological Seminary closed its main campus and the Farminary for August 3 because of a major transformer failure serving the area.
Source: Planet Princeton
Rescue
one person rescued
Crews rescued a man from his car shortly before 4 a.m. at Blair Mill and Bright roads in Upper Moreland Township, Montgomery County, after rising creek water flooded the roadway.
Source: 6abc Philadelphia (WPVI-TV)
Toll
The driver rescued from the flooded intersection in Upper Moreland Township was not injured.
Source: 6abc Philadelphia (WPVI-TV)
Response
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for southeastern Bucks County lasting until 1:15 p.m. and a countywide flood watch lasting until 11 p.m. on August 3.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times, republished by AOL
ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on August 3.
Rescue
Gloucester County Emergency Management spokesperson Andrew Halter told CNN that a large number of water rescues were carried out around Glassboro and Harrison Township on August 27.
“large number”
Andrew Halter, Gloucester County Emergency Management spokesperson, to CNN Source: CNN, published by ABC17 News
ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on August 27.
Damage
Part of US 322 washed away in Mullica Hill during the August 27 flooding, making the road impassable.
Displaced
The August 27 flooding disrupted Rowan University's move-in day and displaced some students, without a reported count.
Damage
Several buildings on Rowan University's Glassboro campus took on water during the August 27 flash flooding.
Source: Rowan University
Response
Rowan Police and Facilities personnel addressed affected locations while the university instructed people to avoid flooded areas and buildings with water intrusion.
Source: Rowan University
Response
Rowan University remained open on August 27 and said evening student move-in and Welcome Week activities would continue.
Source: Rowan University
Damage
1residence hall lobby flooded
Flooding reached one Rowan residence hall's lobby, but no student rooms were damaged.
Source: 6abc Philadelphia / WPVI-TV
In their words
Rowan student health center nurse practitioner Laura Deeley told 6abc that she found her car underwater after leaving work.
“I left work and I came out here to get my car and go home and my car was underwater”
Laura Deeley, Nurse practitioner at Rowan University's student health center, to 6abc Philadelphia / WPVI-TV Source: 6abc Philadelphia / WPVI-TV
In their words
Rowan University sophomore James Didomenico described floodwater breaking through basement doors at an off-campus home where students had moved in two days earlier.
“Door completely flies off right toward us. It was crazy. You can see how high the water got”
James Didomenico, Rowan University sophomore living in the flooded off-campus home, to 6abc Philadelphia / WPVI-TV Source: 6abc Philadelphia / WPVI-TV
Response
In Gloucester City, Community Rocks founder Sara O'Brien said she and other residents cleared storm drains and erected barriers to keep drivers out of the flooded roadway.
Source: 6abc Philadelphia / WPVI-TV
Closed
Flooding closed all lanes of Route 44 in both directions near Berkeley Road in Paulsboro by 2:04 p.m. on August 27, according to NJDOT alerts reported by AOL.
Source: AOL
Closed
Flooding closed one northbound lane of Route 130 at Browning Road in Brooklawn by 2:19 p.m. on August 27, according to NJDOT alerts reported by AOL.
Source: AOL
Closed
In Sayreville, flooding blocked the Garden State Parkway northbound Exit 125 ramp and closed northbound Route 9 south of the Edison Bridge while restricting southbound lanes on August 27.
Source: AOL
Closed
Flooding closed a southbound Route 1 lane and a ramp lane at Raymond Road in South Brunswick and one northbound Route 9 lane near Poor Farm Road in Old Bridge on August 27.
Source: AOL
Damage
Vehicles became trapped or stalled in floodwater on the Garden State Parkway near Exit 125 in Sayreville during the August 27 storms.
Toll
at least20homes affected
The National Weather Service's August 7 preliminary storm report, citing emergency management, stated that flooding affected at least 20 homes in Bangor, Northampton County, with no apparent home collapses or structural damage.
Source: National Weather Service Mount Holly
ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on August 7.
Damage
at least4businesses flooded
The same National Weather Service report stated that at least four businesses were flooded in Bangor on August 7.
Damage
At 6:01 p.m. EDT on August 7, the National Weather Service relayed emergency management reports of numerous instances of flash flooding near and along the Interstate 80 corridor in its warning area covering parts of Sussex, Warren, Northampton and Monroe counties.
Source: National Weather Service Mount Holly, republished by iAlert
Damage
At 6:21 p.m. EDT on August 7, the National Weather Service reported that numerous roads were flooded in its warning area covering portions of Hunterdon, Morris, Sussex and Warren counties, citing reports from the public.
Source: National Weather Service Mount Holly, republished by GovOneStop
Closed
At 7:27 p.m. EDT on August 7, the National Weather Service stated that numerous roads remained closed because of flooding in its warning area covering portions of Warren, Northampton and Monroe counties.
Response
Hackettstown Alerts distributed the National Weather Service's 4:56 p.m. EDT August 7 flash-flood warning for portions of Warren, Sussex and Hunterdon counties, advising motorists to turn around at flooded roads.
Source: Hackettstown Alerts / National Weather Service Mount Holly
Damage
The New Jersey State Climate Office documented flash flooding in parts of Burlington County during the early afternoon of August 5, 2026.
Source: New Jersey State Climate Office, Rutgers University
ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on August 5.
Closed
National Weather Service storm reports reproduced by PerilIQ recorded flooded and closed roads and stranded vehicles southwest of Moorestown Township on August 5, 2026.
Source: PerilIQ, reproducing National Weather Service local storm reports
Damage
National Weather Service storm reports reproduced by PerilIQ recorded flooding on Church Road near Route 38 in Maple Shade on August 5, 2026.
Source: PerilIQ, reproducing National Weather Service local storm reports
Damage
National Weather Service storm reports reproduced by PerilIQ recorded flooding on Route 130 just north of the I-295 interchange in Bordentown Township on August 5, 2026.
Source: PerilIQ, reproducing National Weather Service local storm reports
Closed
Flooding closed State Road at Street Road in Bensalem on August 5, 2026.
Closed
Storm damage closed Woodbourne Road in Langhorne.
Response
At 12:58 p.m. EDT on August 5, 2026, NWS Mount Holly issued a flash-flood warning covering northwestern Burlington County, northeastern Gloucester County and south-central Bucks County until 5 p.m.
Source: National Weather Service Mount Holly, reproduced by Defcon Level
ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on August 5.
Response
At 11:40 p.m. EDT on August 5, 2026, NWS Mount Holly issued a flash-flood warning including northeastern Hunterdon County until 3:45 a.m. August 6 and instructed residents not to drive on flooded roads.
Source: National Weather Service Mount Holly, published through North Plainfield Alerts
ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on August 5.
In their words
Speaking to NJ Spotlight News on August 5, 2026, weather forecaster Nick Pittman said flash flooding was occurring that afternoon in New Jersey.
“We have flash flooding out there this afternoon.”
Nick Pittman, Weather forecaster known as Nor'easter Nick, to NJ Spotlight News Source: NJ Spotlight News / PBS
ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on August 5.
Toll
No injuries were reported from the August 20 tornado near Estell Manor.
Source: Shore Local Newsmagazine
ArchiveOur records show tornadoes and severe storms warnings covering this area on August 20.
Damage
Investigators found no damage definitively attributable to the Estell Manor tornado, which lasted approximately 30 seconds or less in an inaccessible wooded or marshy area.
Source: Shore Local Newsmagazine
Damage
Flooding affected interior Atlantic and Cumberland counties on August 20, with afternoon rainfall totals of 4.95 inches at Mays Landing and 5.94 inches at Estell Manor.
Source: NJ Weather Network
ArchiveOur records show tornadoes and severe storms warnings covering this area on August 20.
In their words
Andy Reim, visiting from Charlotte, North Carolina, told 6abc that he saw cars in ditches and emergency crews while driving through the August 20 storms.
“There were a few cars in the ditch and emergency crews were out.”
Andy Reim, Visitor from Charlotte, North Carolina, to 6abc Philadelphia Source: 6abc Philadelphia
In their words
Manco & Manco Pizza manager Mike Frankel said the storms shortened the Ocean City restaurant's dinner rush and made conditions difficult for some delivery drivers.
“a little bit of a hard time out there”
Mike Frankel, Manager of Manco & Manco Pizza, to 6abc Philadelphia Source: 6abc Philadelphia
Displaced
The storms drove people indoors from Ocean City's boardwalk, with some visitors returning after conditions improved.
Source: 6abc Philadelphia
Response
Cape May County officials monitored the storms throughout the evening and reported no major concerns.
Source: 6abc Philadelphia
Response
Atlantic City officials reported no major damage or flooding Thursday night and said monitoring would continue.
Source: 6abc Philadelphia
Response
A waterspout near North Cape May prompted a tornado warning covering Cape May, North Wildwood, Wildwood Crest and surrounding communities, but no subsequent reports indicated that it reached land or caused damage.
Source: Shore Local Newsmagazine
Damage
Parts of interior Atlantic County were among the areas hardest hit by flooding on August 20, with 4.95 inches of rain at Mays Landing and 5.94 inches at Estell Manor.
Source: NJ Weather Network
ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on August 20.
Response
At 4:41 p.m. EDT on August 20, the National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning covering southwestern Atlantic County and northwestern Cape May County until 8:45 p.m., advising drivers to avoid flooded roads.
Source: National Weather Service Mount Holly, reproduced by Forth
ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on August 20.
Closed
At 9:21 p.m. EDT on August 20, the National Weather Service reported that southeastern Atlantic County's floodwaters had receded but instructed people to continue observing remaining road closures.
Source: National Weather Service, archived by Iowa Environmental Mesonet
ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on August 20.
Damage
At 9:45 p.m. EDT on August 20, the National Weather Service reported ongoing flooding in south-central Montgomery County and northwestern Philadelphia County, with Wissahickon Creek at Fort Washington above flood stage.
Source: National Weather Service, archived by Iowa Environmental Mesonet
ArchiveOur records show flash flooding warnings covering this area on August 20.
Closed
Lower Moreland Police closed northbound Philmont Avenue at Pine and Tomlinson roads in Huntingdon Valley because of flooding.
Source: FOX 29 Philadelphia
Closed
Abington Township police closed Hampton Road between Sherwood and Meadowbrook roads for fallen trees and utility poles, and Rockwell Road between Hamilton Road and Grovania Avenue for downed wires.
Source: FOX 29 Philadelphia
Response
Philadelphia activated its Emergency Operations Center, cleared drainage inlets and staged police and fire personnel at locations potentially requiring emergency closures.
Source: FOX 29 Philadelphia
In their words
Philadelphia Managing Director Carlton Williams described the city's readiness in a statement reported by FOX 29.
“we want to make sure we were ready today and will remain ready through the early morning hours”
Carlton Williams, Philadelphia Managing Director, to FOX 29 Philadelphia Source: FOX 29 Philadelphia
For 6 of these stories, research looked for reported deaths and injuries and found none. As far as the record shows, no one was hurt.
The numbers behind this report
Every warning counted once, by type, place, day and hour, with the method below and the whole table downloadable at the end of the page.
What was warned about
| Alert type | Warnings | Messages |
|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood Warning | 142 | 142 |
| Severe Thunderstorm Warning | 100 | 100 |
| Heat Advisory | 22 | 34 |
| Flood Advisory | 18 | 18 |
| Flood Warning | 18 | 18 |
| Flood Watch | 17 | 21 |
| Severe Thunderstorm Watch | 15 | 19 |
| Special Weather Statement | 11 | 11 |
Where
| State | Warnings |
|---|---|
| NJ | 315 |
| DE | 53 |
| CT | 7 |
The busiest hour of the period was 2pm local time, with 47 warnings.
Counties reached most often
| County | State | Warnings |
|---|---|---|
| Bucks | PA | 84 |
| Burlington | NJ | 74 |
| Bergen | NJ | 73 |
| Gloucester | NJ | 72 |
| Mercer | NJ | 66 |
| Camden | NJ | 61 |
| Essex | NJ | 60 |
| Somerset | NJ | 58 |
| Warren | NJ | 57 |
| Salem | NJ | 57 |
A county with no alerts is not a county with no risk. It can mean a quiet period, or a hazard that this feed does not carry.
When the warnings arrived
View as a table
| Local hour | Warnings | Of which most severe |
|---|---|---|
| 12am | 7 | 0 |
| 1am | 6 | 0 |
| 2am | 12 | 0 |
| 3am | 15 | 0 |
| 4am | 5 | 0 |
| 5am | 7 | 0 |
| 6am | 3 | 0 |
| 7am | 3 | 0 |
| 8am | 5 | 0 |
| 9am | 6 | 0 |
| 10am | 6 | 0 |
| 11am | 4 | 0 |
| 12pm | 11 | 0 |
| 1pm | 36 | 1 |
| 2pm | 47 | 0 |
| 3pm | 42 | 0 |
| 4pm | 30 | 3 |
| 5pm | 43 | 2 |
| 6pm | 28 | 1 |
| 7pm | 32 | 9 |
| 8pm | 12 | 0 |
| 9pm | 3 | 0 |
| 10pm | 4 | 0 |
| 11pm | 8 | 0 |
The feed repeats itself
View as a table
| Stage | Count |
|---|---|
| Messages received | 409 |
| Of which updates | 224 |
| Of which cancels | 0 |
| Distinct warnings | 375 |
| Counties reached | 53 |
How severe they were
- Minor
- Moderate
- Severe
- Extreme
- Not classified
View as a table
| Severity | Warnings |
|---|---|
| Minor | 26 |
| Moderate | 36 |
| Severe | 292 |
| Extreme | 16 |
| Not classified | 5 |
What people were told to do
- Avoid
- Shelter
- Execute
- Everything else
Where those instructions came from
- Shelter (111) — 23 corroborated as flood, 22 corroborated as tornado, 66 with no hazard stated in the alert text
View as a table
| Response | Warnings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Avoid | 182 | 48.5% |
| Shelter | 111 | 29.6% |
| Execute | 32 | 8.5% |
| Monitor | 30 | 8.0% |
| Prepare | 17 | 4.5% |
| Unstated | 2 | 0.5% |
| AllClear | 1 | 0.3% |
What this report cannot tell you
- This report records the warnings that were sent: when, where, and what people were told to do. It cannot say whether anyone received them, whether they acted, or whether they had anywhere to go.
- Deaths, injuries, damage and acreage come from the news organizations and agencies named beside each figure. Our own records measure warnings, never outcomes, and are never the source for a toll.
- A county is the smallest area these alerts describe, so "a county was warned" does not mean every street in it was at risk.
- Where no figure has been reported, this report says so rather than estimating.
How these numbers were counted
Counted AUG 1, 2026 – SEP 1, 2026 · Frozen at publishThe alert figures in this report — how many warnings, where, when, and how severe — come from the alerts this archive received from FEMA IPAWS and the National Weather Service between August 1, 2026 and September 1, 2026, counted once and frozen when the report was published.
Deaths, damage and acreage are not ours and are never drawn from this archive. Each is attributed to the organization that reported it, above.
What was counted
- Only alerts covering at least one county in New Jersey. An alert warning several states is counted in each of them, so state editions do not sum to the national total.
- cap_status = 'Actual' (tests, exercises and demos excluded)
- SAME test codes RWT/RMT/DMO/NPT/NAT excluded, and any event type containing "test"
- An event is the first message of a CAP identifier chain; updates and cancels are counted separately
- Alert time is cap_sent, falling back to ingest time when the feed omits it
- Counties come from the alert geocodes (SAME/FIPS); statewide codes are not counted as counties
What these numbers cannot tell you
- Lead time is the gap between when an alert was sent and when it takes effect. This archive collapses CAP onset into effective, so for many products those are the same instant by design — it is not a measure of forecast warning time.
- 0 alerts expire exactly 24 hours after they were sent because the feed omitted an expiry and the ingest substitutes a default. They are excluded from the duration distribution rather than charted as real forecasts.
- Evacuation and shelter figures are RESPONSE counts. They record what people were told to do, not what caused it; where the alert text does not name a hazard, the row is reported as unstated.
- Hour-of-day figures use each alert’s own local time, resolved from its state. Alerts spanning several states resolve to the first state in their geocodes.
- National Weather Service alerts began arriving in volume on 2026-06-12. Earlier months hold only the handful that reached this archive by other routes, so they undercount weather alerts badly and cannot be compared with later months.
- Population figures are not available for these counties, so alert counts are reported per county and never per resident.
This archive
Collection began 2026-03-27. National Weather Service alerts began arriving in volume on 2026-06-12 (a small number reached the archive by other routes from 2026-03-31). Months from 2026-07-01 onward can be compared with each other; earlier ones cannot.
Corrections and updates
- v2September 22, 2026Re-researched with the Story Method (Task 942): outcomes researched for New Jersey itself rather than inherited from the national edition, including rescues, displacements, closures and on-the-record accounts.
For newsrooms and researchers
Use these figures
Journalists, emergency managers and researchers are welcome to reuse anything in this report, including the underlying counts, with attribution. Version 2 of these figures is frozen: if a correction changes them, it appears above as a dated note rather than silently replacing what you cited.
BePreparedSolutions.co. "Floods displaced students and a tornado touched down in New Jersey." Alert Pulse, September 22, 2026. https://bepreparedsolutions.co/reports/alert-pulse/nj-2026-08
Source: BePrepared Solutions, Alert Pulse (2026). Alert counts from FEMA IPAWS and National Weather Service feeds; casualty and damage figures as attributed in the report.
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The embed updates itself if we publish a correction, so it never goes stale the way a screenshot does.
The CSV carries the same frozen figures as this page, keyed to version 2.