Long Line Of Thunderstorms Bring High Winds, Hail, Lightning, And Heavy Rain To Break Heat Wave In Garden State

It was quite a day weather wise around the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic.  Here in New Jersey, the mercury climbed to 102 degrees after reaching 99 degrees on Wednesday.  Heat indices were even higher when you factored in the humidity, which resulted in dew points in the low 70s.  So, when a weak cold front tried to push through the region, something had to give.

Around the beginning of rush hour here in the Garden State, conditions began to gradually deteriorate with skies becoming more overcast and winds picking up.   Over the next several hours, the skies grew darker and darker as the clouds thickened and lowered.  Winds were beginning to gust in earnest.   The first signs of bad weather coming this way was when the NWS office in Mount Holly issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for portions of Morris, Sussex, and Warren counties before 6:00 PM.

The Doppler Radar began to light up as a long line of strong to severe thunderstorms extended from New England through Connecticut, and into Long Island, Southeastern New York, Northern New Jersey, and Northeastern Pennsylvania.  The storms began to bow out on the radar, which was an indication of strong straight line winds.  The line pushed progressively southward at a rate of 30 miles per hour.  It produced hail in portions of Bergen County and Long Island while in portions of the Bronx, an apparent gustnado developed, which swept a local news reporter off her feet.

As the storms pushed southward and eastward, winds gusted to 58 miles per hour in Philadelphia.  Meanwhile, in Northwestern Middlesex County, thunderstorms that had appeared to lose their punch over Morris and Somerset counties, regained their form.  There were two waves of thunderstorms that passed through the region.  The first one brought a quick downpour to the region around 7:00 PM while the second one generated dangerous lightning at a rapid pace.  Throughout the two hour period where the thunderstorms rolled through, winds were very gusty.

As of Thursday night, there were a total of 551 storm reports according to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.  Thankfully, there were no reports of tornadoes.  In addition, the storms did bring some relief from the brutal heatwave, which lasted for four days.  Temperatures on Friday were only in the mid to upper 80s with dew points in the low 60s.