SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ–The winds are still howling outside as this article is being typed up for the Hurricaneville Blogosphere. The storm that has plagued the Central Jersey area of Somerset and Middlesex counties as well as other parts of New Jersey has finally begun to push out of the area, but not before dumping a lot of rain.

The 36 hour deluge began on Wednesday as temperatures soared into the 60s for highs. Here in South Plainfield at Greg’s Weather Center for example, the mercury rose to 63.1 degrees at 2:40 PM in the afternoon on December 10th. The mean temperature was 54.3 as the low fell to only 45.4 degrees at midnight. The heating degree day units were only at 10.8, which is the lowest so far this month.

Rainfall on Wednesday was minimal to what was received on Thursday and early Friday. Amounts were only around a third of an inch. However, another half an inch to an inch and a half fell over the next 24 hours or so. As a result, South Plainfield received just over 2 inches of rain from the recent weather event, or storm as it is most commonly called. Up until Wednesday, rainfall had been pretty minimal. As a matter of fact, 94.4 percent of December’s rain to this point in Northwestern Middlesex County fell over the past three days.

The consequences of the rain have been dramatic. The swamp area nearby GWC is noticeably flooded much like it was for previous major flooding events in the area such as Hurricane Floyd in 1999 and the April Nor’easter in 2007. The newly established truck route, which was approved by the town of South Plainfield in a recent election, was put into chaos as New Market Avenue was placed under water by the recent rains.

More ominously, the latest rains struck an area that has been pummeled by flood waters time and time again. On Friday morning, a flood warning was issued for both Bound Brook and Manville as the Raritan River, which stretches from Raritan Bay through New Brunswick, and into the affected areas as well as municipalities west, has reached approximately 13.5 feet at Manville, and 27.7 feet at Bound Brook according to the National Weather Service at 9:15 AM on Friday. Since that time, the stage at Bound Brook has gone up to 29.9 feet as of 3:00 PM, which is well beyond the flood stage of 28.0 feet.

The Raritan River is expected to continue to rise over 30 feet, and may impact Main Street in Bound Brook, which floods when the flood level reaches 30.5 feet. Meanwhile, Manville’s flood stage at the Raritan is 14.0 feet, and according to the latest from the NWS, the flood level had risen to 15.3 feet as of 2:15 PM on Friday afternoon. Like at Bound Brook, the floodwaters are expected to continue rising to 15.4 feet, and impact can be felt at Dukes Parkway when the stage reaches 15 feet.