Unsettled Weather Gives Way to Sunny Skies Just in Time for Week 3
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NJ – It turned out to be a great night for football after all on Thursday night. Week Three of the 2024 New Jersey High School football season began on Thursday night with several games around the state including two within the Big Central Conference. For much of the week, the idea of great weather for any of the Week 3 games was in some doubt.
Unsettled weather began to develop on Monday afternoon with high clouds moving in over Central Jersey from Potential Tropical Cyclone Eight, which was hovering off the southern coast of North Carolina. While the system ended up sparing the Garden State, PTC 8 brought over a foot and a half of rain in roughly 12 hours to places such as Carolina Beach, North Carolina.
Thankfully, the storm didn’t intensify enough to gain any tropical characteristics, and more importantly, headed further inland over the Carolinas where it eventually squeezed all of its moisture out. However, there were still some rough conditions along the Mid-Atlantic coast where a storm system that stayed to the east, brought an easterly fetch, or flow that combined with the full moon to cause minor tidal flooding at the Jersey Shore.
Clouds lingered for most of Wednesday and even portions of Thursday. On Wednesday night, the overcast skies prevented the full moon from appearing. The cloud cover also kept temperatures up overnight. The morning low on Thursday was 60 degrees. Then, as the sun began to emerge again, temperatures warmed up into the mid-80s around Central Jersey. At Greg’s Weather Center in South Plainfield, the high managed to reach 84 degrees. It was the 91st time GWC had an 80-degree-plus day in 2024.
The forecast for Friday is calling for another 80-degree day in Northwestern Middlesex County. The National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly is calling for a high of 81 in South Plainfield on Friday afternoon. More of the same is expected for Saturday, but a tad cooler with the high reaching just below 80 degrees. Skies during the day will be mostly sunny before turning somewhat cloudy in the evening on both days.
For those who may be looking to head down to the Jersey Shore, keep in mind that there is a Coastal Flood Advisory currently in effect until 6:00 AM on Saturday. The advisory is expected to become a watch on Saturday into early Sunday morning. Also, Sunday is the first official day of fall. So get out and enjoy the weather over these final couple of days of summer.
Big Central Gridiron will be down in Lambertville to take in the BCC Freedom Silver Division contest between South Hunterdon and Bound Brook. Conditions at kickoff are expected to be partly cloudy with temperatures heading down into the low 70s. Then, on Saturday afternoon, skies will be sunny again with temperatures heading toward 80 at Investors Bank Field at Tatlock Park in Summit where the Hilltoppers will be playing Carteret in a BCC United Gold match-up.
Finally, there is one thing to note for next week’s games. There has been some chatter on social media, the internet, and weather media outlets of a storm developing in the Gulf of Mexico and perhaps coming into Florida and then up the East Coast. The storm has yet to form, and currently only has a 40 percent chance of formation over the next 7 days according to the National Hurricane Center’s latest tropical outlook. Just be aware and pay attention to local media and the National Weather Service for any changes.
