After 13 Months Of Unprecedented Severe Weather, The Garden State Gets Much Needed Break

Put this into perspective.  There was more rain in the month of August 2011 than there has been over the last six months combined.  No major snowstorms for the entire winter of 2011-12.  Maximum barometric pressure has been over 30.5 inches of Hg four times over the past six months.  This occurred after the lowest pressure ever recorded at the GWC Weather Station during Hurricane Irene in August 2011.  The bottom line is that mother nature has finally decided to give Garden State residents a much needed break.

From the severe storms that produced high winds and tornadoes in September 2010 through the Holiday Blizzard of 2010 to the seemingly relentless winter of 2011 to the flooding of the Spring to the extreme heat of July 2011 to the torrential rainfall and Hurricane Irene in August 2011, and finally the heavy rains from the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee and the rare snowstorm of October 2011, it was a rare series of extreme weather events that left climatologists and meteorologists scratching their heads.  It was the most memorable period of severe weather events in my lifetime so far.

Finally, we get a break, but for how long?  And, will the warm, and mostly dry weather that we have been having as of late present a new set of problems.  The dearth of rain and winter snow along with unseasonably warm temperatures around the Garden State has brought about several instances of Red Flag Warnings.  Areas in Ocean and Monmouth County have already had brush fires.  One I noted near Jackson Township on March 7th.  The brush fire problem could get worse as we push toward summer.   With more and more people throwing their still lit cigarette butts on the roadways, expect more brush fires to develop in the coming months.

I don’t want to be a downer, but I felt the need to mention that.   People are becoming more and more reckless when it comes to putting out cigarette butts.  I even saw someone throw out of their car either a cigarette pack, or a set of matches that were on fire, and it landed right into the middle of Route 9 North in Monmouth County.   Actions like that stun me in a day and age where you see catastrophic brush fires happen throughout the country every year.  Getting back to the weather, the mild and snowless winter coupled with the warm March has been quite enjoyable.  I have been able to get out to exercise in some shape or form more times over the first three months of 2012 than for the same period in 2011.

Add in the extra daylight that comes with an earlier spring forward for Daylight Savings Time, and you have a lot to be happy about.  Nice weather with more sunlight means more energy and less depression.  It will be interesting to see if this overall weather pattern will continue as we head into the rest of the spring and summer.  Regardless, this break in the wicked weather has been most welcome.