While the first and last few days of the month came in disguised as a lamb, March 2018 was a roaring lion on many occasions. Three nor’easters pounded New Jersey, with a fourth grazing the state, turning more of its wrath on southeastern New England. In true nor’easter fashion, the storms brought minor to moderate coastal flooding, significant beach erosion, powerful winds, heavy rain, and record- to near-record-breaking snowfall. This led to two of the larger power outages since Sandy in 2012, numerous traffic accidents, significant tree damage, frequent school closings, and even someone being injured by lightning during a snowstorm.
| City, State | Temp |
| Fortescue, NJ | 59 |
| Mansfield, NJ | 59 |
| Cherry Hill, NJ | 58 |
| Hamilton, NJ | 58 |
| Wayne, NJ | 58 |
| City, State | Temp |
| High Point Monument, NJ | 47 |
| High Point, NJ | 49 |
| Charlotteburg, NJ | 52 |
| Walpack, NJ | 53 |
| Kingwood, NJ | 53 |
2 mph from the WSW
7 mph from the NW
Sunny, with a high near 64. Northwest wind 3 to 6 mph.
Mostly clear, with a low around 41. Light and variable wind.
Sunny, with a high near 61. Light and variable wind becoming south around 6 mph in the afternoon.
Increasing clouds, with a low around 40. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Cloudy, with a high near 59. Light southeast wind increasing to 6 to 11 mph in the morning.
Rain, mainly after midnight. Patchy fog. Low around 48. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a half and three quarters of an inch possible.
Rain. Patchy fog before 2pm. High near 62. Chance of precipitation is 80%.
Rain likely before 8pm, then a chance of showers after 8pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 64. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Partly cloudy, with a low around 45.
Mostly sunny, with a high near 65.
A chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
A chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 62. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Search by zipcode or city/state for the latest conditions, forecasts, graphs, maps and more nearest to you.
While the title of this report is guilty of some exaggeration, by just looking at the temperatures across New Jersey the past two Februaries you would not be far off the mark. The mildest February by far occurred in 2017 (40.4°), while this past February 2018 came in second mildest at 39.2°, just edging out 1998. This was 5.8° above the 1981–2010 mean and an impressive 8.3° above the 1895–present mean. The difference between mean periods further illustrates how Februaries in recent decades have been milder overall than earlier in the 20th century. So does the fact that February 2018 was...
The first month of 2018 was replete with cold, warmth, snow, rain, and stretches of dry weather. First came an impressive episode of subfreezing conditions that began in late December and extended into the second week of January. This interval included a storm that brought over 10” of snow and blizzard conditions to coastal counties. Next was a heavy rain event accompanied by much warmer air, then later in the month, several scattered rain and snow episodes interspersed with dry conditions and some 60° warmth. Something for most everyone, I suppose you could say! The statewide January...
The last month of 2017 was similar to many a month this past year. Whatever the season, weather conditions varied quite a bit from week to week. This was mainly due to an absence of atmospheric blocking in the middle and high latitudes with patterns that can lock a particular weather situation in place for multiple weeks. Thus in December we had a mild week, a snowy week, and a very cold week interspersed with transitional conditions. The one largely absent factor was precipitation, which resulted in the 10th driest December across NJ since records were established in 1895. The 1.57” of...
We've fully rebuilt our charting to provide a rich, interactive experience. By leveraging the robust HighCharts library, this new incarnation of NJWxNet charting and graphing not only allows you to interact with the data presented, but provides easy export of PDF and SVG, easy printing and more.
To explore our new and improved charting tool, head to the Chart Viewer.
The NJ Weather and Climate Network partners with the NJ Division of the US Forest Service to help bolster fire safety in the NJ Pine Barrens and other forested regions throughout the state of NJ. Through the cooperative management of a number of remote weather observations stations throughout the state and the development of easy-to-use but powerful interfaces for analyzing the data collected at these stations, the NJ Weather and Climate Network helps provide the USFS with tools that aid in every day decision making regarding fire safety and more.
The past week has seen localized soaking rains across much of NJ, though not everywhere has gotten clobbered. The map below shows rainfall totals from Sunday morning the 13th through the morning of the 16th. Over this roughly 72 hour interval as much as 8.52” fell in Howell Township (Monmouth County), followed by Belmar (Monmouth) with 7.42”, Wall Township (Ocean) 7.22”, Millstone Township (Monmouth) 5.98”, and Raritan (Somerset) 5.42”. To demonstrate the local variability of the precipitation, four Bridgewater (Somerset) locations received 5.09”, 4.55”, 4.41” and 3.88”. Differences were even more pronounced over distances of several tens of miles. For instance, only 20 miles from Howell, rainfall totaled just 0.89” at Seaside Heights (Ocean) to the south and 2.42” in Rumson (Monmouth) to the north.
Statewide, the first six months of 2014 averaged 45.8°. This is 2.2° below normal and ranks as the 31st coolest since 1895. It was the coolest start since 2003, which was 45.0° and ranked 15th. Before then you have to go back to 1982 (45.3°), which ranked 20th. The chilliest was 1907 at 43.2°.
Precipitation (rain and melted snow) averaged 24.76" across NJ from January through June. This total is 2.11" above normal and is 26th wettest. Since 2003, four January-June intervals have been wetter, including last year. 2011 ranked one notch drier at 27th. The wettest first half of the year was 1983 at 32.51".
The Fourth of July embodies the meaning of summer. Whether on a serene beach in Barnegat Light or in a crowded suburban backyard, New Jerseyans (and all Americans) come together for the day to celebrate our nation through excessive eating, relaxation, fireworks, and sporting the red, white, and blue. We welcome the chance to barbeque with family and friends, and just like any gathering, there is a family member you avoid... Maybe it's the uncle that eats all the food... Or the aunt who chews your ear off with anecdotes... This year, however, you'll have to keep an eye on Mother Nature.
This Friday forecast looms ahead of us with a chance of showers, which is nothing unusual. These storms look as though they should pass around noon, as a cold front advances through our region. However the impending impact of separate tropical system is far from the usual, as Tropical Storm Arthur was officially confirmed Tuesday morning.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Arthur is sitting just off the east coast of Florida and is predicted to accelerate north along the coast reaching Nova Scotia by Saturday. There is a possibility for landfall in North Carolina’s Outer Banks as a hurricane on early Friday morning before turning northeast during the day due to aforementioned front pushing it off the coast. With a bulk of the storm activity on the east side of the circulation, it will most likely not impact our area with rain as it turns away from the coast.
High Point Solutions Stadium at Rutgers University. (Photo: Wikipedia)
On July 1, Rutgers University officially becomes a member of the Big Ten Conference. In doing so, the Scarlet Knights join thirteen other schools in the Big Ten, bringing with it "new opportunities for academic collaboration and athletic competition."
In addition to a long-standing tradition of outstanding athletics and academics, 10 of the 14 universities in the Big Ten are home to their respective state's climate office. Each state climatologist serves as a focal point for all activities pertaining to the weather and climate of their state. The Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist at Rutgers University is proud to be among some great climatological company in the Big Ten.
In the spirit of that friendly, scholastic competition, we are putting the 14 Big Ten schools head-to-head in a weather and climatology showdown! Which school in which city and which state is the hottest? The coldest? The wettest? The snowiest? Click to find out!
The record book on the winter of 2013-2014 officially closes on June 30. Given the recent streak of hot weather, and the summer solstice this Saturday, we're confident it's safe to run the calculations on seasonal snow totals a few days early. Indeed it will be hard for many New Jersey residents to forget this very active, cold, and snowy winter.
From first flake to last, this past season ranked 7th snowiest of the past 120 years. The statewide average snowfall was 54.3”, which is 28.4” (or 210%) above average. The most snow fell up north but ranked lowest of the three regions (14th) due to its normally higher seasonal average. The south had the least snow but ranked 9th highest. This was the third season on record that each of the three divisions recorded over 50"; the other two occurred in 1898-99 and 1957-58. All regions shared the snow load similarly through January. Snow was more plentiful in northern and central areas in February. The situation was reversed, exceedingly so, in March, when three accumulating events impacted the south but missed the other two regions.
A steady stream of scattered showers and thunderstorms have brought heavy rain to several locations in New Jersey this week. And even more rain is in the forecast through the end of the week.
The deluge began on Monday morning, as commuters experienced periods of heavy, steady rain through parts of Mercer, Middlesex, Somerset, Union, Morris, Essex, and Bergen counties. The National Weather Service reported severe flash flooding in Newark, which required several motorists to be rescued.
Tuesday afternoon, another area of very heavy rain affected a narrow band in Camden, Gloucester, Burlington, and Atlantic counties. Rainfall estimates from the New Jersey Weather & Climate Network station in Sewell (Gloucester County) totaled almost 2 inches within just a half-hour from 4:30pm to 5:00pm on Tuesday. Widespread flash flooding, over a foot deep in spots, was reported to the National Weather Service by trained storm spotters and officials.
May 2014 had a difficult time establishing an identity. What began with a storm that carried over from April 30th and resulted in the 7th largest flood of the past century in the Raritan basin on the 1st (see the April narrative for discussion of this event), later included some warm days, late freezes in a few locations, severe thunderstorms with hail in others, and a spectacular Memorial Day. Overall, May averaged 62.1°, which is 1.3° above average (compared to the 1981-2010 average). This ranks as the 35th warmest (tied with 1962) in the 120 years back to 1895. Precipitation averaged 5.18", which is 1.18" above average and ranks as 19th wettest. This value includes the considerable rain that fell on April 30th at National Weather Service Cooperative Stations that report during the morning hours (see April narrative for a full explanation).
As climatological summer and the Atlantic hurricane season begin on June 1, scientists are carefully monitoring sea-surface temperatures in the tropical Pacific Ocean for a potential El Niño event. An El Niño occurs when warmer-than-average waters start to form in the eastern Pacific Ocean, specifically near the equatorial latitudes. Easterly winds (blowing from the east) typically move warmer water to the western Pacific (near Indonesia), permitting cooler water to upwell to the surface in the east (near South America). When these winds are weaker, or if they reverse direction, the warm water stays in the eastern Pacific. This difference in sea surface temperatures and winds creates a new dynamic between the ocean and atmosphere, distinctly affecting weather patterns across the world. No two El Niño events are alike; they vary in magnitude and location of the largest temperature anomalies. El Niño events can be classified as Strong, Moderate or Weak. What might an El Niño summer mean for New Jersey's weather?
Was it a drier-than-average April? Was it a wetter-than-average April? If only it hadn't rained heavily on the last day of the month! Certainly this is a strange beginning to this monthly weather narrative. Let me explain before we get to the numbers. Most National Weather Service Cooperative observers, of which there are several dozen in New Jersey, take their daily observations in the 7-8 AM time range. So does nearly every NJ CoCoRaHS observer. These observations are recorded for the calendar day at hand, thus a day's weather records are complete as of the observation time. This means that any precipitation that occurs after the daily observation gets recorded the next morning (day). This is something that must be understood when evaluating daily precipitation reports, however, it does not make any difference in monthly totals except on the first and last day of the month. One of these exceptions occurred, in a big way, in April…or was it May?! Torrential rain fell during the daylight hours into the evening of April 30, part of an event that began lightly during the daylight hours of the 29th and ended just after observation time on the morning of May 1st (yes, meaning May 2 observations also were involved in storm totals). What up until then had been a somewhat dry April suddenly became a wet month…if you waited until midnight to take your observations. And believe it or not, some COOP stations do have observations taken at midnight. Confused? Can't blame you…
Copious moisture streaming across a slowly advancing warm front resulted in a period of heavy rain across the Garden State, with most of the rainfall occurring on April 30th. The entirety of NJ north of Cape May County was deluged with more than 2.00" of rain, with a large area of greater than 4.00" totals extending from southwest to northeast along the entire span of the state. In particular, the area from western Salem, Gloucester, Camden, Burlington and Monmouth counties north up to roughly I-80 were socked with 4.00"-5.00", with some localized pockets of greater than 5.00". CoCoRaHS stations in Robbinsville Twp (Mercer County) and Matawan (Monmouth) reported the highest totals in the state, with 6.02" and 5.59", respectively. Stations in Medford Twp (Burlington County; 5.44"), New Brunswick (Middlesex; 5.39"), Westfield (Union; 5.32"), and Maplewood Twp (Essex; 5.25") also measured among the heaviest totals in NJ. On the low side, stations in Cape May County such as West Cape May (0.90"), Middle Twp (1.05"), Dennis Twp (1.27"), and Wildwood Crest (1.29") missed out on the heaviest rain.
