Fire Danger On The Increase; Temps Expected To Cool Off

Ready to hit the beach?  Well, if you took this Monday off, you were in luck.  As forecasted on Friday, the temperatures gradually increased over the weekend to summer like levels on Monday.  As of this report, the mercury has peaked in South Plainfield at 90 degrees, or 90.4 degrees to be exact.  It is the warmest temperature recorded in Northwestern Middlesex County so far this year.  The previous high was on Sunday at 77.9 degrees, which surpassed the mark set during the heat wave in late March.

The record for this date at Newark Airport was 92 degrees.  According to the latest roundup from the National Weather Service, the high temperature at Newark reached only 88 degrees.  Earlier forecasts from this morning on Weatherscan and FIOS1 indicated that the high would reach 90 degrees in Newark.  So, it was actually warmer in South Plainfield than at Newark Airport.  Looking at other locations in the Garden State, New York, and Pennsylvania, the temperature was 86 in Central Park, 88 in Trenton, 86 in Philadelphia, and 88 in Somerville.  Atlantic City and Wildwood were much cooler at 81 degrees while Belmar peaked at 86 degrees.

Conditions continue to be dry.  Threats of rain have come and gone while temperatures have increased, humidities have fallen again, and winds are picking up.  What this means is that we now have an increased fire threat here in New Jersey.  Further north, in Southeastern New York, the National Weather Service office in Upton has issued a Red Flag Warning.  Currently in Northwestern Middlesex County, the relative humidity is at 32 percent with winds sustained at 2 miles per hour.  Gusts have been up to 9.  Please be careful putting out ciagrette butts, and do not cook outdoors.

South Plainfield has still not received any measurable rainfall this month according to the data collected here at GWC.  So far this year, there has only been 3.9 inches of rain, and the bulk of that fell in January (2.28 inches).  Looking at the latest forecast from the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, temperatures will eventually cool off as we head through the week, but there is no relief for this recent stretch of dry weather in the form of rainfall.  While there is a vigorous storm system in the Midwestern portion of the country producing severe weather, it has slowed down, and not expected to have the same punch.