New Jersey Flash Floods

This summer, is an unusual summer. It seems to rain and thunder every other day. Before we left to go to Trader Joe's, we didn't check the news. If we did, we would have heard that a flash flood warning was issued.

The trip to Trader Joe's took about 20 minutes. I got my usual 1lb blueberries, sandwich supplies, and bananas. On the way back, the rain started pouring heavier. I noticed there were puddles and small streams forming alongside the roads.

On the highway, there was a sudden outburst of rain and lightening, causing cars to immediately slow down to about 30-40 mph, with their blinkers on. We pulled to the side of the road, trying to wait it out but the rain just kept on coming, so we pressed on.

The decision was to either take the back roads, or continue on the high way in traffic. Jenny decided the back roads would be safer, but as I saw the puddles become more like ponds, I wasn't so sure about the route.

In one intersection, the water main was overflowing, due to the sudden flux of storm water overwhelming the system. There was also a power outage in the large intersection, and chaos ensued as to how cars would cross it. On one side, it was entirely blocked off by a large pool of water, at least a foot deep. Mall shoppers had only one way out of the mall, and by the example of one car which was stuck in the water, were at a dilemma of how to get out. Some cars started driving on the right bank, which was covered in grass and slightly slanted. The stream of cars along that route decimated the nicely mowed lawn. However, for power cars, such as a truck that was a 4X4, they had no problem going straight through the water.

After this intersection, we passed by many neighborhoods which were also blocked by large puddles of water. Even some driveways were emerged! To get back, we tried to go under the bridge in Morris Plains, but as we got closer, we saw a firetruck blocking the way, and a fireman putting out flares to mark the safety boundary. As I got closer, I saw a car underneath the bridge, with water up to the window shield. Help was on the way to help get the drive out of the car. There was no way we could have gone through that route, and we weren't sure of the back roads for an alternative way home.

There were also many trees and debris knocked down in the middle of the road. One tree, apparently struck by lightening, ended up blocking 3 out of the 4 lanes of the road. I remembered another way home, because I take it everyday from work, so we were able to get back safely. It took more than an hour to get home.
Because of this, I decided not to go to church today... giving me thoughts on what it means to be a fair weather Christian!