Approaching Cold Front And Hurricane Earl Should Combine To Finally Break The Heat

For a fifth consecutive day, the heat rose again into the 90s around the Central Jersey area as well as the rest of the Mid-Atlantic. Here in Northwest Middlesex County, the mercury rose to just under 97 degrees. It was the 37th time that the thermometer rose to 90 degrees or more since May 7th. The streak equaled a similar stretch of 90 plus degree temperatures that took place from July 21st to July 25th.

The heat wave will break on Friday as a cold front approaches from the west while Hurricane Earl is moving up the Eastern Seaboard from the south. These two will combine to create cloud cover, some showers, and storms during the day that will keep temperatures down. Thankfully, Earl has weakened to a Category Two Hurricane with 105 mile per hour winds, and more importantly, has begun to turn more to the east as its steering falls under the influence of the approaching trough. A Tropical Storm Warning remains in effect across coastal New Jersey up to Sandy Hook. Further north in Jersey, there is a Tropical Storm Watch. More details on Earl in a little while.

Here were some of the high temperatures around the region on Thursday:

• Somerville, NJ 96.1 degrees
• Morristown, NJ 93 degrees
• Newark, NJ 96.1 degrees
• Caldwell, NJ 93.9 degrees
• Teterboro, NJ 95.0 degrees
• Central Park (NYC), 93.9 degrees
• Andover, NJ 91.9 degrees
• Allentown, PA 96.1 degrees
• Trenton, NJ 97.0 degrees
• Belmar, NJ 91.4 degrees
• Lakehurst, NJ 93.9 degrees
• Mount Holly, NJ 95.0 degrees
• Philadelphia, PA 95.0 degrees
• Atlantic City, NJ 91.0 degrees
• Millville, NJ 91.0 degrees
• Wildwood, NJ 87.8 degrees
• Wilmington, DE 93.9 degrees
• Dover, DE 93.0 degrees

The latest seven day forecast shows that there will only be a high of about 85 degrees on Friday here in South Plainfield with a 50 percent chance of precipitation. Winds may gust up to 20 miles per hour today. A Tropical Storm Watch is in effect, and some outer bands from Earl could bring showers and storms with gusty winds. The rest of the Labor Day Weekend indicates pleasant temperatures of around 80 degrees under sunny skies. The mercury may climb again into the 90s as we get into Tuesday.