Gas prices continue to slide with double-digit reductions in New Jersey and around the nation amid a decline in demand and a drop in oil prices but summertime temperatures are soaring as most of New Jersey falls under a Heat Advisory.
Summer average temperatures in New Jersey usually range between 82°F to 87°F with 15 to 20 days of temperatures above 90°F. There have been at least 17 days with high temperatures above 90°F, so far in 2022.
The Newark Airport weather station has already hit exactly 100 degrees twice in a row in the last seven days.
Blazing sunshine and temperatures in the mid 90s
Extreme heat and humidity will significantly increase the potential for heat-related illnesses, particularly for those working or participating in outdoor activities, according to the National Weather Service.
These were the hottest temperatures ever recorded in the Garden State
AAA Mid-Atlantic says the average price of a gallon of regular gas in New Jersey on Friday was $4.51, down 12 cents from last week. Drivers were paying $3.17 a gallon on average a year ago at this time.
The most dangerous combination of heat and humidity in the stretch was on Sunday.
Hot, humid conditions continued into Monday however showers and thunderstorms arriving in the afternoon will cause heat indices to peak several degrees lower compared to today. The passage of a cold front Monday night will bring more significant relief for Tuesday.
Temperatures in New Jersey have already risen more than 3.5°F since the beginning of the 20th century. All of the 10 hottest calendar years on record for the state have occurred since 1990, and six have occurred since 2010.
Since 1900, the global average sea level has risen by about 7–8 inches. It is projected to rise another 1–8 feet, with a likely range of 1–4 feet, by 2100 as a result of climate-changing emissions from human activities.
The sea level along the New Jersey coast has risen faster than the global average because of land subsidence, or gradual settling and sudden sinking of the Earth’s surface owing to subsurface movement of ground materials.
Land subsidence is an often overlooked environmental consequence of our land and water-use practices such as development.
Subsidence is a global phenomenon, and in the United States, more than 17,000 square miles in 45 states have been directly affected by it. That is more than double the size of New Jersey, which is 7,419 square miles.
Observations beginning in 1911 show sea level has risen at an average rate of 1.6 inches per decade, about double the global rate, over the period of record at Atlantic City.
NJ’s largest wildfire since 2007 spread powerful flames that originated in the Washington Township (Burlington) portion of Wharton State Forest, possibly from an incompletely extinguished campfire.
Named the Mullica River Wildfire by the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s Forest Fire Service, the fire was intense as seen from the ground (Figure 6) and a satellite channel was able to identify the hot footprint of the fire (Figure 7).
Contained by the 21st, the fire eventually covered over 13,500 acres (final acreage is not yet available), with smoke spreading out to the southeast well out into the Atlantic as seen in a visible satellite image (Figure 8). Smoke was easily recognized on radar imagery (Figure 9). This was New Jersey’s largest wildfire since the Warren Grove fire consumed 15,500 acres in southern Ocean and Burlington counties in mid-May 2007. It is likely to be ranked as the 17th largest back to at least 1926 (see here). Fortunately, it occurred in a sparsely inhabited region, thus no deaths or significant injuries were reported, and no major structures destroyed.