Gusty Winds and Brief Heavy Rain on Friday Morning Spark Major Change

After a dry October of only 0.54 inches of rain, and only a handful of days with measurable rainfall, the month of November began with severe weather. A strong cold front associated with a powerful storm system that produced tornadoes in the Plains and severe weather in the Midwest and South, pushed east. The National Weather Service, and many other media outlets were indicating gusty winds and rough weather on Friday as early as a couple days ago.

The predictions came to fruition as the powerful cold front moved into Central Pennsylvania during the early morning hours on Friday. The front became more energized as it pushed eastward. A wind advisory was issued for all of New Jersey until 2:00 PM on Friday afternoon. An hour or so later, a Severe Thunderstorm Watch was issued for Eastern Pennsylvania and Western New Jersey including the counties of Warren, Hunterdon, Morris, Somerset and portions of Southern Sussex and Western Mercer until 11:00 AM.

Middlesex County, where the Greg’s Weather Center is located, was put under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch a short time later (around 9:00 AM), and it remained in effect until 12:00 PM. By that time, the temperature had risen to 68 degrees. There wasn’t a lot of rain yet, but a steady trickle of rain since late yesterday morning had totaled 0.18 inches at GWC. The dew point had climbed to 64 degrees in Northwestern Middlesex County. The high on Thursday in South Plainfield reached 63 degrees. The weather was unusually warm and muggy for this time of year.

The front had a well defined and strong squall line associated with it, and it rolled through New Jersey rather quickly. Shortly after 9:00 AM, the squall line had crossed into Western New Jersey, and the NWS office in Mount Holly issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for six counties in Western Jersey until 10:15 AM. This squall line extended the entire length of New Jersey, and even into Northern Delaware. The front and associated squall line moved quickly through the Garden State. By 9:25 AM, the line had reached western Somerset County, and by 9:45 AM, the line was pushing through GWC in Northwestern Middlesex County.

Upon arrival in South Plainfield, the winds became very gusty. Rain briefly came down in sheets and was drifting horizontally and diagonally. Within just a few minutes, approximately two tenths of an inch of rain fell at GWC. Meanwhile, the barometer had fallen to 29.60 inches of Hg, which is equivalent to the pressure at the center of circulation in a minimal tropical storm with 40 to 50 mph winds. By 10:00 AM, the front was pushing into the eastern portion of Middlesex County. The temperature had dropped five degrees within 10 minutes to 63 degrees. The rapid drop in temperature is a harbinger of things to come.

According to the Weather Channel, the front was bringing in very significant changes to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Temperatures are expected to fall throughout the weekend, and by Sunday, the high is expected to be only in the upper 40s. Some of the coldest weather we will only have seen so far this season.