Good morning everyone. I’m in a bit of a rush since I have to be at work in an hour or so, but I do have some time to talk about the latest weather moving through the Garden State. Since Thursday, there has been a great deal of severe weather in the central portion of the country while the Northeast, and in particular, New Jersey has enjoyed perhaps its best weather in over a month. The mercury finally climbed into the 80s on Monday with a high temperature almost reaching 83 degrees (82.6 in fact) here in South Plainfield, New Jersey according to the data provided by the Greg’s Weather Center WX station. It was a perfect weekend to kickoff the unofficial start of summer, and many took advantage despite the rise meteoric rise in gas prices. For those, who did decide to stay home, there were plenty of activities going on in the local area to keep one busy and entertained.

However, the rain, which dominated much of the weather last week with measurable rainfall for seven straight days, has returned just in time for the start of the abbreviated work week. Rain began falling during the overnight as overcast skies kept temperatures up for the most part. The high so far for the day on Tuesday occurred after midnight at 72 degrees while the low occurred this morning after sunrise at 65 degrees. The rainfall has been steady. I went out for my usual morning walk that I take several times during the week as part of my exercise routine, and the rain came down pretty good. After walking for about 45 minutes, I got a pretty good soaking. This rainfall is coming from a storm system that has had quite a history in recent days. Since Thursday, this vigorous low that has fed off the strong clash between the retreating winter cold from Canada, and the summer like moisture and warmth from the Gulf of Mexico has produced a ton of severe weather with a total of 1020 storm reports filed as of Monday.

The fact that the rain came during the overnight, and not after a significant heating of the day, may help New Jersey and the rest of the Tri-State area get away unscathed in terms of severe weather. However, don’t be surprised that there will be some thunderstorms, especially if the sun happens to peak out at any point during the day to act as a catalyst by heating the already saturated atmosphere. According to the latest forecast for the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, New Jersey, there is a chance for thunderstorms, particularly in the afternoon with a high temperature of 83 degrees today. In addition, a Hazardous Weather Outlook has also been issued calling for a chance of severe thunderstorms in Northern Pennsylvania and New Jersey with those areas receiving the maximum amount of daytime heating, and the position of the front will be over these areas during the afternoon hours. Greatest threat from these storms is straight line winds. Keep an eye to the sky, particularly this afternoon in Central Jersey.