Severe Thunderstorm Watch In Effect Until 11:00 PM EDT

Over the past couple of days, there has been a gradual buildup of heat and humidity around the Garden State.  Yesterday, the high temperature in Northwestern Middlesex County was 84 degrees and the heat index was up to 88 thanks to a dew point in the upper 60s.  Monday has been much more humid as well as a bit warmer.  The high temperature as of 2:17 PM this afternoon was 90.8 degrees with a dew point of 73.2 degrees.  The heat index was just over 100.

As a result of the increased heat and humidity, there has been more clouds and instability.  Skies have also been much more hazy.  Thunderstorms have already developed over extreme Northeastern Pennsylvania and moved into Northwestern New Jersey.  In response, the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for those areas earlier in the afternoon.  Within the past couple hours, skies over Northern Middlesex County have grown darker, but no rain has fallen yet.

At about 1:30 PM EDT, the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for the northern half of New Jersey until 11:00 PM this evening.  Severe storms are moving toward the area according to the latest doppler radar.  According to the NWS, a Severe Thunderstorm Warning is now in effect for Northern Middlesex County as a severe thunderstorm located near Long Valley had the capability of producing golf ball sized hail and winds in excess of 60 miles per hour.