The recent storm that blew through Monmouth and Ocean counties dropped a serious amount of rain on the area. As the rain collects into local streams and brooks many of them feed into the Manasquan River. The mighty Manasquan collects the water and usually rises well above it’s normal banks. These pictures, taken the morning of January 10th, 2024 show the flooding in Monmouth County’s major river.
The previous storm that moved through didn’t raise the river levels this much. That storm likely set the stage for flooding of this magnitude by saturating the ground in the area. As a result of that water saturation, yesterday’s storm dropped water that had no place to go.
The Monmouth County Department of Transportation and Howell Public Works do an amazing job maintaining the many crossings over the Manasquan River. They’re constantly preparing for this kind of flooding in Monmouth County.
Where Is This Monmouth County Flooding?
This particular crossing of the Manasquan River is at Hospital Road, not far from the Manasquan Bike Path and the Trailhead Parking Lot. Hospital Road borders Sqankum-Allenwood Road on one side and Atlantic Avenue (not far from the golf course) on the other.
According to the National Weather Service, well over 2 inches of rain fell in the areas around the Manasquan River and in Monmouth and Ocean Counties. The rainfall totals in our area were:
- Matawan 2.66 inches
- Oceanport 2.84 inches
- Howell, 2.57 inches
- South Howell, 3.05 inches
- Toms River, 3.25 inches
- Cedar Bridge, 3.06
In years past when rain of these levels falls in southern Monmouth County, Hospital Road ends up being closed to traffic for inspection and repairs. With this storm, that does not appear to be necessary. Had just a little more rain fallen in Howell, we’d likely be seeing a whole different story.
One good thing is that this particular area of Monmouth County drains out very quickly. The sandy soil aids in in moving the standing water into brooks and streams and down into the wide Manasquan River where it borders Wall Township and Brielle to the north Brick Township’s Herbertsville section and Point Pleasant to the south.
That quick drainage is good news because the latest weather forecast calls for more drenching rain this Friday night into Saturday.
