The Passaic Flood of 1903 | Page 3

June.
| July. | August. | September.
-----------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+------------
|Normal. |Normal. |Normal. |Normal. | Observed.| Observed.|
Observed.| Observed.
-----------------+--------------+--------------+--------------+------------
Highland region: | | | | | | | | Dover | 3.29 | 15.02 | 5.54 | 5.47 | 5.08 | 9.04
| 4.02 | 3.39 Chester | 3.48 | 12.80 | 6.42 | 7.59 | 5.16 | 9.35 | 4.60 | ...
Charlotteburg | 3.52 | 9.45 | 5.54 | 3.97 | 4.98 | 7.78 | 4.80 | 3.29
Ringwood | ... | 10.13 | ... | 3.08 | ... | 6.17 | ... | 3.06 Red Sandstone | | | | |
| | | plain: | | | | | | | | Paterson | 4.31 | 11.17 | 5.32 | 5.40 | 4.31 | 10.89 |
4.86 | 2.88 Hanover | 3.32 | ... | 5.23 | 5.40 | 5.20 | 9.40 | 4.52 | ... River
Vale | 3.17 | 10.62 | 4.87 | 3.41 | 4.17 | ... | 3.61 | 2.90 Essex Fells | 3.08
| ... | 7.03 | ... | 5.95 | ... | 3.67 | 1.80 Newark | 3.60 | 11.51 | 4.48 | 4.27 |
4.75 | 14.54 | 3.83 | 4.56 South Orange | 3.57 | 9.28 | 5.43 | 4.22 | 5.05 |
13.75 | 4.04 | 3.80 New York City | 3.13 | 7.42 | 4.26 | 3.23 | 4.70 | 5.96 |
3.72 | 2.60 Plainfield | 3.62 | 10.14 | 5.86 | 4.70 | 4.37 | 6.87 | 4.42 | 7.10

Elizabeth | 3.68 | 8.76 | 5.74 | 4.31 | 4.26 | 7.15 | 4.14 | 4.38
-----------------+--------------+--------------+------|-------+------+-----
An examination of the above table shows that throughout the summer
of 1903 the precipitation was considerably above normal. The records
for June and August indicate extremely wet months, and the July
figures are slightly above while the September figures are somewhat
below normal. The important fact shown by this table is that disastrous
floods may occur after long periods of abundant rains. It has been
observed that heavy precipitation may be expected after protracted
periods of drought. Such a belief is not altogether fanciful. In the
northeastern part of this country the total amount of precipitation is
approximately uniform from year to year. The variations,
comparatively speaking, are not very wide, and we are therefore led to
expect that there are in operation influences which serve to compensate
for excesses or deficiencies in our annual rainfall. Therefore after the
abundant precipitation of the summer of 1903, an observer might have
had some measure of justification in predicting a normally or
abnormally dry fall. In view of the actual events the fact must be
emphasized that in adopting measures to prevent floods the margin of
safety must be extremely wide. The extraordinary rainfall of those three
October days can not with assurance be accepted as the maximum.
Precipitation, in inches, in Passaic Valley and vicinity, October 7 to 11,
1903.
---------------------+------------------+------------------+-------- | From-- |
To-- | Station. +------+-----------+------+-----------+ Amount. | Day. |
Hour. | Day. | Hour. |
---------------------+------+-----------+------+-----------+-------- Highland
region: | | | | | Dover | 7 | | 11 | 9 p.m. | 10.13 Little Falls | 7 | 4 a.m. | 11 |
7 a.m. | 14.13 Charlotteburg | 7 | | 10 | | 12.67 Ringwood | 8 | 11 a.m. | 9
| 8 p.m. | 10.63 | | | | | Red Sandstone plain: | | | | | Paterson | 7 | 5 a.m. | 9
| 3.45 p.m. | 15.04 River Vale | 8 | 8 a.m. | 11 | 6 p.m. | 12.55 Essex
Fells | 8 | | 9 | 4 p.m. | 10.66 Newark | 8 | 8.30 a.m. | 11 | 5 a.m. | 12.09
South Orange | 8 | 6 a.m. | 10 | Night | 10.48
---------------------+------+-----------+------+-----------+--------

The extremely rapid rate of precipitation during the crucial part of the
storm is shown by the recording gages placed at observation stations in
Newark and New York City.
Hourly records of precipitation at New York observation station,
October 8 and 9, 1903.
Inches.
Oct. 8, 9 to 10 a. m. 0.08 10 to 11 a. m. .02 11 to 12 m. .32 12 m. to 1 p.
m. .10 1 to 2 p. m. .05 2 to 3 p. m. .06 3 to 4 p. m. .34 4 to 5 p. m. .01 5
to 6 p. m. .10 6 to 7 p. m. .02 7 to 8 p. m. .93 8 to 9 p. m. .32 9 to 10 p.
m. .24 10 to 11 p. m. .27 11 to 12 p. m. .26 9, 12 to 1 a. m. .30 Oct. 9, 1
to 2 a. m. 0.25 2 to 3 a. m.