A week after Hurricane Irene blew through the state, the National Weather Service has issued a flood watch through Wednesday for parts of southern and central New Jersey.
A flood warning remains in effect along the Passaic River in Essex, Morris and Passaic counties.
Periods of rain will pepper the area today and tonight. While it will not be raining continuously, some occasional heavier downpours are possible, resulting in some local flooding concerns.
The greatest threat for heavy rain will be from the city on west.
Temperatures will be unseasonably cool with highs only in the upper 60s. Average highs for this time of year are in the upper 70s.
Wednesday will still see the risk of showers, although more widely scattered and not as numerous, as the heavy rain threat will shift west into Pennsylvania for awhile.
More rain could return later Wednesday night and Thursday, so the flooding risk is likely to remain into the end of the week.
The rain is being caused by a slow moving front to the west of the tri-state area and the remnants of tropical storm Lee tracking northward along the front.
The weather should dry out over the weekend, with temperatures warming back into the upper 70s to near 80.
In regards to Katia, the storm is now a Category 3 hurricane with max winds at 125 mph.
Moving northwest, the storm is expected to turn north and then sharply northeast in the next 48 to 72 hours, keeping Katia out over the Atlantic waters.
Tri-state residents might see some rough surf and huge swells along with strong rip currents along the coast but that, along with some gusty winds over Long Island, is about the only impact the storm should have on the area.
The storm has yet to make that north-northeast turn so it will continue to be watched very closely over the next few days.
Heavy Rains Put Parts of NJ Under Flood Watch
Weather service says as much as four more inches could fall in northern New Jersey Wednesday night and Thursday morning
Copyright AP - Associated Press
