Why only parts of Toms River were drenched

Why were parts of Toms River drenched by rain on Thursday while other areas of the Ocean County community barely saw a drop?

Meteorologist Dan Zarrow says the storms formed as a result of "training" where the rain evaporated and helped to form more storms in the exact same spot. "Since there was no atmospheric steering mechanism to kick that storm out to sea or in any other direction it just sat and rained more than 3 inches in that one isolated spot and leading to flash flooding," explains Zarrow.

Ralph Stocco, Public Information Officer for Toms River Police, says 20-30 people became trapped in their vehicles east of Vaughn Avenue as Route 37 and several other streets became impassable. Specialized high water rescue units were used to rescue the trapped drivers.  No injuries were reported or expected. He stressed that no life was in danger at anytime.

“All of these vehicles are disabled as a result of trying to pass through areas where the water level had risen rapidly on the roadways,” said Stocco, noting that the western side of Toms River saw no rain at all.