Heat and Humidity Return After Nice Weekend; Strong to Severe Storms Possible on Tuesday and Wednesday

They say that all good things must come to an end.  So it goes for the nice weather that the New York Metropolitan area including Central Jersey has enjoyed since Friday evening.  After two plus days of comfortable temperatures, plenty of sunshine, and low humidity that turned the holiday weekend from a near bummer to spectacular, the heat and humidity are set to return as we begin a new work week.

High pressure that was responsible for the amazing weather this holiday weekend will begin to migrate and moderate.  The ridge will then begin to produce a more southwesterly flow as our region gets on the back side of it.  As a result, warmer and more humid air will be ushered in from the south and Gulf of Mexico.  Our next storm system will be a cold front moving in from the west by the middle of the week, and will usher in the next round of nice weather for the latter portion of this weekend into the first half of next weekend.

Moisture started to creep in on Sunday afternoon in the form of cirrocumulus clouds following some high cirrus in the morning.  The National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, New Jersey has indicated in its forecast for Northwestern Middlesex County that temperatures will be in the low 90s for Monday and Tuesday before dropping into the upper 80s on Wednesday and the mid 80s by Thursday.  The NWS Hazardous Weather Outlook indicates that heat index values will rise into the 95 to 100 degree range for the Interstate 95 corridor over the next several days.

The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma has issued a Convective Outlook for tomorrow that calls for a slight risk of severe weather for a good portion of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic including Upstate New York, much of Pennsylvania and West Virginia as well as Southeastern Ohio on Tuesday.  The NWS in Mount Holly indicates that there is a possibility of strong to severe storms on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.  Storms could contain strong winds and hail as well as dump heavy rains.  The Weather Channel forecasts thunderstorms possible on Tuesday and Thursday.