Picture Perfect Weekend for Football in Central Jersey
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ – Another week of football is underway here in Central Jersey and the Big Central Conference. The Labor Day Holiday Weekend and the unofficial end of summer are here, and the weather couldn’t be better. After slugging through the humid, muggy, and occasionally wet weather during Week 0, fans are being rewarded by Mother Nature.
Friday marks the first day of Meteorological Fall. On the weather calendar, September 1st marks a change in the seasons from summer to autumn. Meteorological Fall is different than what we’re normally used to, Astronomical Fall. According to the stars, planets, and moons, the Autumnal Equinox doesn’t occur until around September 21st.
Now with that information out of the way, we can talk about the recent weather happenings. It has been a bit of a tumultuous week and summer for much of the country. The heat dome that was centered in the middle of the country drifted to the east, and a front pushed through just in time to not only bring this great weather but also keep both Tropical Storm Idalia and Hurricane Franklin at bay.
Both tropical cyclones are still out there. All you have to do is head out to the Jersey Shore this weekend and check the waves. Greg’s Weather Center was down in Manasquan on Wednesday and captured footage of waves crashing ashore there from the swells generated by Franklin. Hurricane Franklin had grown into a monstrous Category Four storm on Monday with sustained winds as high as 150 mph before weakening.
Idalia was the storm that caught all the news headlines and coverage though. While Franklin was only a threat to shipping interests and Bermuda, Idalia roared ashore in the Big Bend region of West Florida. Idalia rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to a Category Four Hurricane just hours before landfall. When it finally came ashore, it weakened slightly to a Category Three storm but was still a major hurricane with 125 mph winds.
Both of these storms are weakening, and the frontal system brought some showers and storms during the early morning hours of Wednesday. At GWC in South Plainfield, NJ, there was a total of 0.16 of an inch of rain. For the month of August, the rainfall total was 5.67 inches. Over the months of July and August 2023, GWC received 11.39 inches of rain. Since June 23rd, approximately 13.83 inches of rain fell here at GWC.
So, South Plainfield as well as much of the rest of Central Jersey went from being fairly dry from late Spring to early Summer to having to build an ark by the end of the Summer Solstice. Mother Nature has decided to give us a break this holiday weekend with several days of dry weather. Yesterday’s weather couldn’t have been any better for the BCG contest between A.L. Johnson of Clark and Governor Livingston of Berkeley Heights.
The frontal system ushered in breezy conditions and a shot of relatively cooler and drier air. The high temperature at GWC on Thursday was 76 degrees after a morning low of only 59. Overnight Thursday into Friday morning, the area of high pressure now controlling our weather became further entrenched. Today’s morning low at GWC was only 54 degrees before climbing up to a high of 75 this afternoon.
Enjoy the pleasant weather now because the heat is set to return just in time for the end of the Labor Day Weekend, and the start of the 2023-24 school year around the Garden State. To date, there have only been 9 days where the afternoon high was at least 90 degrees here at GWC. By Sunday, there could be the beginnings of a late-season heat wave.
According to the five-day forecast from the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly, temperatures and sky conditions will remain pleasant for the next 36 hours or so. Conditions for tonight’s games will be clear with the temperature falling to an overnight low of 55 degrees. Saturday looks like another gem, but it could be a bit warmer with the mercury climbing into the low 80s.
Once we get clear of most if not all of the high school games scheduled around the BCC and the rest of New Jersey, the weather will start to turn hotter again. On Sunday, the forecast is currently calling for a high in the upper 80s to near 90. Then, on Labor Day, it gets even hotter with temperatures climbing into the low 90s. Same thing for Tuesday. Morning lows will be in the upper 60s to low 70s.
Part of the reason for this is due to the recent tropical storms. One thing that tropical systems do to help the Earth stay balanced is transfer the warm, humid air from the tropics to the polar regions. For those cleaning up in Florida and the Southeast, there has been a lot of heat and humidity in Idalia’s wake. Once the high pressure that is currently in place moves offshore, the clockwise flow around it will push this hot and humid air from Florida and the Southeast into our neck of the woods.
Another important thing to note about this weekend. With many of you headed out to the beaches to enjoy this last weekend of summer at the Jersey Shore, it is important to know that there are still rough surf conditions there. A Coastal Flood Advisory has been in effect for the past couple of days not only because of the presence of Franklin and Idalia but also due to the Supermoon.
Many beaches along the Jersey Shore, Delaware, and Maryland as well as the ocean-facing beaches of Long Island are also dealing with rough surf and rip currents. For many, it will be tempting to go into the water since ocean temperatures are peaking right now. However, these waters are currently very dangerous. The surfers were out in full force at Manasquan on Wednesday to ride waves that were as high as 6 feet.
The NWS offices in both Mount Holly and New York City have a high rip current risk along coastal areas throughout the Mid-Atlantic. Minor coastal flooding is expected to occur at points along the coast including Sandy Hook, Manasquan, Barnegat Light, and the ocean-facing beaches of Brooklyn, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties. Check out this page from NOAA and the National Weather Service on How to Avoid Getting Caught in a Rip Current.
