Weather
By Dan Skeldon
The first thing they teach you in college as a meteorology major is to keep the weekends nice, especially the holiday weekends. And there are no bigger three holiday weekends each year than the summer ones, Memorial Day, July Fourth, and Labor Day. Well after the murky holiday weekend we just muddled our way through, my college professors would be disappointed.
Of course, meteorologists don’t control the weather. But another part of our job, besides forecasting, is to put a positive spin on whatever weather hand we’re dealt. So let me give it a shot. First, we at least salvaged Memorial Day Monday weather-wise, and one nice day is better than none. It could indeed be worse, as the Memorial Day weekend back in 2003 had three consecutive days of gray and gloom, with unseasonably cool highs around or below 60 degrees and rain all three days. Second, our Memorial Day weekend weather is in no way an indication of what the upcoming summer has in store. And third, although this is a much weaker point, we actually needed the rain. We’ve accumulated a 2 to 4 inch rainfall deficit over the last few months, and a little rain is a good thing. Of course, the timing left a lot to be desired.
And here’s one final “positive”, as we broke, well actually shattered, two record high temperatures over the weekend. Obviously, it’s not the type of record highs you were thinking, as they were safe. The record high for last Saturday (May 29th) is 99 degrees, set in 1969. And the record high for last Sunday (May 30th) was 96 degrees, set more recently in 1991. See, it can get hot this time of year! Our high temperatures at the Atlantic City International Airport last Saturday and Sunday were only 54 degrees, the coldest high temperature ever for both dates, and the latest spring days ever that chilly. Meteorologically, that’s pretty impressive. If you’re a local or vacationer with beach plans for the holiday weekend however, you were probably depressed, not impressed.
Sure, it can be hot and even humid in late May. We’ve had Memorial Day weekends in the past with several 90-degree days, and what is considered to be the unofficial kickoff to summer was fittingly hot and sticky. But there’s several things working against the last weekend of May having a summery feel. First, there are still pools of cool air lingering in eastern Canada, some of which find their way down to the Jersey shore on occasion. Second and probably more influential are the still cool ocean waters sitting just off our coast, which can play a big role in keeping the Memorial Day holiday weekend similarly cool and sometimes gray and gloomy. The average ocean temperature in late May after all is only around 60 degrees, and any winds off that ocean will keep temperatures on the beaches rather cool. Finally, late spring is the last hurrah for coastal lows, which sometimes stall and get stuck off our coast, like last weekend.
So yes, we have nowhere to go but up from here in terms of warmer and brighter weather. And we have two more shots at enjoying perfect holiday weekend weather, the July 4th weekend (with July 4th actually on a Sunday this year) and the Labor Day weekend (September 4th-6th later this summer). But what does history tell us about those weekends?
While the Memorial Day weekend is often the “iffiest” and the most highly variable (from 54 degrees to 99 degrees in terms of high temperatures), the Fourth Of July weekend is known to be the hottest. That makes perfect sense, as July is usually the hottest month of the year in South Jersey with the most 90-degree days and most frequent and longest lasting heat waves. Of course, heat and humidity are the fuel that fire up those gully-washing and sometimes severe thunderstorms. And that’s a price we often pay for the hot weather in early July, as ‘Mother Nature’s fireworks” have occasionally interfered with the manmade pyrotechnic displays that mark our Independence Day celebrations.
Then comes Labor Day weekend in early September, which usually brings the nicest weather of any summer holiday weekend. Our cold late May Atlantic Ocean has warmed nicely, reaching its warmest point of the year around Labor Day (in the low to mid 70s). The worst of the mid-summer heat and humidity has passed, which means less fuel to fire up showers and thunderstorms. And as long as there are no tropical threats, a big if as early September is the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season, summer goes out in a blaze of glory weather-wise with warm, comfortable, and dry weather. I use the same reasoning when I advise people that September and not May is the best time of year for outdoor weddings at the Jersey shore, even though May is the more popular month.
So here’s hoping that by the end of the summer, despite our Memorial Day weather malaise, we’ll be saying two out of three ain’t bad and get a little weather redemption. Time will tell.
Meteorologist Dan Skeldon has a degree in meteorology from Cornell University. He has forecasted the weather in South Jersey for the last 18 years, first on the former television station NBC40 and then on Longport Media radio. Dan has earned the American Meteorological Society Seal of Approval for Broadcast Meteorologists, and now does television broadcasts on WFMZ-TV in Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley.
