Wild Weather Closes Out Month
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ – Although the month of April 2025 ended on a very dry note precipitation-wise, there was still quite a bit of volatility. Wild weather closed out the month around the Garden State and the rest of the Mid-Atlantic region. From heat and wildfires to thunderstorms and strong winds, there was plenty of chaos to go around over the last week of the month.
First, there was the heat. Since March 29th, there have been six days of at least 80-degree weather at GWC in South Plainfield, NJ. Five of those days have occurred in the past 12 days. The warmest day of 2025 so far happened on April 19th with a high temperature of 85 degrees. Three of those days transpired last week when the average temperature was just shy of 74 degrees.
| Date | High Temperature |
| April 19, 2025 | 85° |
| April 22, 2025 | 81° |
| April 24, 2025 | 82° |
| April 25, 2025 | 80° |
| April 29, 2025 | 82° |
Table 1: Summer-like temperatures at GWC in South Plainfield – April 19-30, 2025
From Wildfires to Thunderstorms – The End of April 2025 Packed a Punch
The increased warmth coupled with low humidity and gusty winds produced devastating wildfires. Four popped up across the Garden State a week ago with the most notable one in Southern Ocean County. The Jones Road Fire in Waretown scorched over 15,000 acres and affected several towns including Barnegat, Lacey Township, and Waretown.
With the temperatures getting warmer, there is also an increased risk of showers and thunderstorms. Rain developed overnight Friday into Saturday, which dampened the threat somewhat in Central Jersey. There was only 0.14 of an inch of rain at Greg’s Weather Center in South Plainfield, NJ during this period. However, severe storms developed in Ocean County and also in Northern New Jersey into New York City on Saturday evening.
One of the severe storms produced a tornado warning in the area of Seaside Heights, New Jersey. The warning was short lived. The showers and storms were associated with a cold front that ushered in not only cooler and drier air, but also strong winds on Sunday. The barometer at GWC bottomed out at 29.67 inches at 6:36 PM on Saturday. When the high pressure began to move in behind the front, a pressure gradient developed, and that resulted in very gusty winds.
Winds Roar Through New Jersey and Pennsylvania
During the day on Sunday, the winds roared around the Garden State. Wind gusts ranged anywhere from 35 miles per hour in Edison, New Jersey to 55 miles per hour in Jersey City. The winds became so fierce at GWC that they caused a tree to come crashing down into the backyard and damage a fence along the property. The windy conditions subsided somewhat on Monday, but resumed on Tuesday.
| Location | Wind Gusts (mph) |
| Jersey City, NJ | 55 |
| Somerville, NJ | 52 |
| Perth Amboy, NJ | 52 |
| Cape May, NJ | 51 |
| Atlantic City, NJ | 47 |
| Keyport, NJ | 47 |
| Tuckerton, NJ | 46 |
| High Point, NJ | 44 |
| Belmar, NJ | 44 |
| Millville, NJ | 43 |
| Sea Bright | 42 |
| Oceanport, NJ | 42 |
| East Brunswick, NJ | 41 |
| Trenton, NJ | 41 |
| Piscataway, NJ | 38 |
| Kearny, NJ | 36 |
| Metuchen, NJ | 36 |
| Edison, NJ | 35 |
A storm system in the Midwest moved east and spawned an MCS complex that tore through Pennsylvania with winds near 70 miles per hour. One of the hardest hit areas was State College in the central part of the Keystone State, where a tornado touchdown was reported. As the MCS moved into Eastern Pennsylvania, there was still a strong bow echo associated with it on radar. Warnings were issued for Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Monroe, and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania on Tuesday night.
The wind damage and hail from the powerful line of storms produced power outages that left an estimated 560,000 people without power across the Keystone State on Tuesday. Thankfully, the MCS fizzled out by the time it got to the Western Jersey border. Wednesday began with an elevated risk of fire spread across New Jersey. The Jones Fire is still going although it is now 75 percent contained.