Fire Danger Expected To Pick Up Again As Temps Projected To Get Into The 80s

After several days of instability, clouds, and cooler weather, temperatures will begin to rebound around New Jersey on Friday, and really ramp up over the weekend. With a pesky low pressure system that had been spinning offshore in the Atlantic finally moving out, high pressure will move in, and a more westerly to southwesterly flow will develop over the next 72 hours bringing temperatures to their highest levels so far this year.

Here in Northwestern Middlesex County, the forecast is calling for a high temperature of 66 degrees on Friday. The mercury will continue to rise with a high of 72 on Saturday, 80 degrees on Sunday, 84 degrees on Monday, and 80 degrees with a 30 percent chance of thunderstorms on Tuesday. Saturday night has the best chance of precipitation at this point with a 40 percent possibility of showers. Speaking of the chance of rain, the overall two week outlook around the Garden State indicates that dry conditions will continue.

In response to both the increase in temperatures this weekend, and the continued dry weather around New Jersey, the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly has advised of an increased risk of fire spread over the next several days. Winds here in Northwestern Middlesex County are expected to be between 10 and 20 miles per hour over the next few days, but that could still be enough to carry a spark that ends up in a significant fire.

As of today, the warmest it has been this year so far has been 77.4 degrees back a few weeks ago. During that time, records were threatened and even tied or surpassed in some instances. While this weekend’s warm-up is expected to bring temperatures to their warmest levels thus far this year, it is not expected to bring record highs at this point.