Garden State Dodges Bullet As Severe Storms Fail To Develop

The stage had been set for severe weather on Friday.  Strong storms exploded over the Mid-Atlantic, particularly in the Northern Virginia area near Washington D.C. the day before.  Fortunately, there wasn’t enough sunlight during the course of the day to provide that spark to fire up severe storms across Jersey on Friday.

Temperatures had been running above normal during the course of the week.  The thermometer was acting more like it was mid-September rather than mid-October as the mercury had been climbing into the upper 70s to near 80.  In addition, the cold front that was moving through had a negative tilt to it, which is a scenario perfect for the development of severe thunderstorms.

What is a negatively tilted cold front you ask?   It is a cold front that aligns from the Northwest to the Southeast.  Most fronts orient themselves from the Northeast to the Southwest.  There were a couple bursts of rain on Friday.  The first coming in the late morning while the second, and most significant developed in the mid to late afternoon.  Total rainfall on Friday was only 0.60 inches, which the most occurring in the afternoon.

The thunderstorm cell that rocked Northwestern Middlesex County continued to intensify as it moved across, and eventually blossomed into a more severe storm in Staten Island and Monmouth County.  The tempest produced gusty winds and heavy rain in a short period of time.  The wind took my breath away as I shot video of the storm.  There were also some nice rumbles of thunder along with a few flashes of lightning.

Skies cleared out just in time for a number of Friday night high school football games across the region.  Conditions were quite comfortable as temperatures didn’t get too cold.  A full moon emerged just as the second half of Highland Park’s game against Dunellen got underway.  The Destroyers went on to beat the Owls, 27-6.