Good morning. The National Weather Service Office out of Mount Holly, New Jersey has issued a Flash Flood Watch for much of the Garden State on Saturday. A cold front has been dumping copious amounts of rain over the region since yesterday afternoon. In addition, very warm and humid air is in place ahead of the front. While the cold front is helping to keep Hurricane Bill out over the Atlantic, Bill is still having an impact not only with high waves, heavy surf, and rip currents, but also by slowing down the advance of the front.

I was up earlier this morning, and it seemed that the thunderstorms were stronger than they were during the afternoon on Friday. The rain was coming down much harder, and the thunder was very loud. A Flash Flood Warning was in effect for Bergen, Passaic, Essex, and Union counties during the night from about 1:30 AM to 4:30 AM. Rainfall amounts expected today are going to be between 1 to 3 inches with as much as 5 inches in some places. This is in addition to the rain that fell yesterday. What is happening is that showers and thunderstorms are moving over many of the same locations in what is called a training effect. So, be careful when driving. Do not try to drive through flood roads. Turn around don’t drown.