Weather
By Dan Skeldon
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.
That snippet from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities also coincidentally describes the two transitional seasons here in South Jersey. While fall is often the best of times weather-wise with warm, sunny days and cool, clear nights throughout, our springs are often lacking, to put it nicely. The persistently windy, cool, and occasionally wet eight day stretch of weather either side of Mother’s Day earlier this month is a good example of those worst of times we see so many a spring.
So why such a disparity between the two seasons? After all, spring and fall have similar amounts of daylight and the sun angle, or the strength of the sun, is the same in late March as it is in late September. But there’s one key difference between the two seasons, and that’s the ocean temperature. Spring is notorious for the still cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean, as the average water temperature is in the chilly 40s and 50s through much of the spring, not reaching 60 degrees until Memorial Day weekend. Meanwhile, the ocean can remain around 70 degrees into October in the fall.
The cold ocean each spring can mean frequent fog banks, stubborn low clouds, and sharply cooler temperatures compared to areas just 10-20 miles inland. It’s the end of nor’easter season, but coastal storms are more apt to get “cut-off” and stuck just offshore, prolonging the brisk and dreary weather, like we saw earlier this month.
Spring is often a windier time of the year in South Jersey too, as the clash of the building warmth to our south and lingering cold to our north often leads to frequent bouts of blustery breezes. Just look at this spring for the gusty proof. Since the start of meteorological spring back on March 1st, more than 80 percent of our spring days have had winds gusting over 20mph, more than half have had winds gusting over 30mph, and about a quarter have had at least 40mph gusts! So if you think it’s been a blustery spring, you’re right. And remember what happens any time that wind is from the northeast, east, or southeast? Yup, it’s cool and often cloudy too.
So a nice spring is possible in theory in South Jersey, but it remains fairly elusive. I remember back in 2014, the pieces came together just right in April and May. Winds were largely offshore, from the west and northwest, keeping any ocean influences at bay. There were no late season coastal lows, and back door fronts that sneak down the coast in the spring and deliver cool air and northeast winds were scarce that spring too. The result was that quintessential spring weather when you don’t yet need the air conditioning, but the heat is no longer necessary either. It’s economical. It’s ideal. And in the spring anyway, it’s pretty rare.
That’s why we get Mother’s Day weekends like we had this year. Last year, it was Memorial Day weekend, with 50-something-degree rain from start to finish. Don’t get me wrong. Every season has its merits. But spring is the perennial frustrating one, for those that crave the long stretches of comfortably mild sunshine that September, October, and occasionally November are known for. For nice springs, travel farther inland, and you’ll usually have better luck.
With that in mind, here’s a bit of advice. While this year’s Memorial Day weekend weather is not yet in the scope of the forecast, remember the weekend that unofficially kicks off the summer season here in South Jersey can bring anything from a 50-degree rain to 90-degree heat and humidity. July Fourth weekend will almost always bring the hot and humid weather, and usually the chance for a few pop-up thunderstorms too. Labor Day weekend is your best bet weather-wise for good weather when it comes to the three big summer weekends. Of course, we always hope all three are sun-sational. Maybe this will be the year!
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.
