Another Week, Another Storm for Central Jersey
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ – For the sixth time in the past seven weeks, the end of the week has produced a stormy outcome. A coastal low is in the process of developing and has already produced nearly half an inch of rain at Greg’s Weather Center in South Plainfield, NJ. So, in summary, the BCG Weather Report for this week is simple: Another Week, Another Storm for Central Jersey.
The weather has been somewhat unstable the entire week. On Monday when Big Central Gridiron headed over to Investor’s Bank Field at Tatlock Park in Summit for a JV game, the commute along I-78 near New Providence and Berkeley Heights was a wet one thanks to an afternoon shower. The barometer struggled to recover from last weekend’s storm when it bottomed out at 29.47 inches.
Currently, the barometric pressure at GWC is falling rapidly at 29.54 inches. The pressure has fallen 0.09 of an inch in the past several hours. More importantly, the barometer has dropped 0.46 of an inch, or 15.3 millibars in less than 24 hours. What that means is a storm is brewing. Over the past several days, the conditions in Central Jersey have been a bit warm and humid for this time of year.
Despite the cloud cover on Friday, the mercury has still managed to climb into the mid-60s around the area. Temperatures have been that way for much of the week. The high temperature at GWC was 66 on Thursday after a high of 65 on Wednesday. The only day, where temperatures were below 64 in Northwestern Middlesex County was on Tuesday with a high of 61.
So far this month, there has only been 1.20 inches of rain in South Plainfield. The bulk of that fell a week ago in the last storm when 0.62 of an inch fell at GWC. One thing has been true about the weather over the past several weeks, and that is the unsettled nature of it. As mentioned in the last BCG Weather Report two weeks ago, a blocking pattern became entrenched over Canada, which has prevented things from truly clearing out.
The latest radar out of Fort Dix shows the current round of rain is moving out, but another is gradually pushing in from the west in Eastern Pennsylvania. The showers and an isolated storm or two in Eastern Pennsylvania are associated with a weakening cold front. There is a chance of an isolated thunderstorm embedded in these showers during the overnight hours into early Saturday.
The coastal low will proceed to move away as we head towards kickoff on Saturday afternoon. However, there is still a chance of a lingering shower during the games on Saturday. More importantly, though, there will be a large difference in pressure that remains as strong high pressure begins to fill in following the departure of the coastal storm. As a result, winds will begin to increase.
Winds will likely gust in excess of 30 miles per hour around the area with higher gusts near 40 miles per hour along the coast. Rainfall amounts should end up anywhere between another quarter to half an inch. Amounts could be higher in places where the isolated thunderstorms occur. Temperatures will remain in the mid-60s through Saturday afternoon before turning colder.
