By Meteorologist Joe Martucci
Astronomical fall begins on Sunday, Sept. 22. However, in the weather world, climatological summer runs from June 1 to Aug. 31.
Sure, last week and even the beginning part of this week felt summery outside. I laid out on the sand and hopefully you were able to do the same, or maybe hang on the boat or boardwalk.
However, it’s pitch black at 6 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. now. The sun hangs lower in the sky and, of course, the crowds are gone (which many of us that are “Shore Local” are enjoying).
So, that being said, I dug through the data for climatological summer. All in all, summer was hotter than average at the Jersey Shore. Precipitation wound up above average. Both come from the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist, Dave Robinson, whom I also call my “weather dad.”
Note that Robinson’s office defines the coastal region as roughly the Garden State Parkway on east from Cape May to Monmouth counties. So, there can be differences at specific weather stations as opposed to the shore as a whole.
Let’s dive into the details.
How hot was summer 2024 at the Jersey Shore?
June started out hot. The average temperature was 3.2 degrees above the widely used 1991-2020 30-year climate average. It was 4.7 degrees above the average for the entire period of record, which dates back to 1895. Since then, 2024 was the third hottest summer.
July was the 12th hottest summer in the 130 years of record keeping at the state climate office. In a sign of the warming climate, the month was 1.3 degrees above the 1991-2020 average. However, when you expand it back to 1894, it was 3.1 degrees above average.
July was an instance where a single weather station showed a significant difference when compared to the coastal climate region the state climate office uses. Atlantic City Marina was actually slightly below the 1991-2020 average by 0.8 degrees.
August was the summer month that was closest to average. It was 0.3 degrees above the 1991-2020 average. Similar to July, though, August still ranked well above average month compared to the entire period of record. 2024 ranked at the 27th hottest in 130 years.
Generally, the first 10 days of the month were hotter than average. Then it flip-flopped between warmer and cooler days. Despite the overall monthly warmth, the most notable part of the month to see was that autumn feel from Aug. 20 to 24.
Expansive high pressure from the north wiped away the humidity. Highs at the shore were in the low to mid-70s much of this time. Overnight lows even fell into the 50s, which is very unusual for that time of the year.
In all, June was the third hottest month, July was the 12th hottest month and August was the 27th hottest month. It was one of the hottest summers on record.
The ocean was chilly most of the summer
From June until the middle of August, many of us said that the ocean was just too cold to really enjoy. Water temperatures were in the lower 60s and 50s for a good part of this time. Finally, ocean temperatures warmed in the late part of August, just in time for our typically warmest waters of the year. The first half of September has had waters in the low to mid-70s, too.
Upwelling caused the chilly water for most of the season. Upwelling occurs when the relatively warmer water on the sea surface pushes out to sea. In its place is colder water from the sea floor.
Upwelling is caused when winds run parallel to the coastline. In our case, a wind from the south, south-southwest or southwest will do that. That’s just three of 16 different directions.
We had plenty of that.
Winds at Atlantic City International Airport, 54% of days in June, July and August were from just those three directions.
I should say, upwelling is natural and our marine life does need it. Cooler water is denser in nutrients than warmer water.
How muggy was summer 2024 at the Jersey Shore?
There are no long-term records for this at the immediate shore. So, we go to Atlantic City International Airport for the answer.
Using the dew point, a measure of moisture in the air, it was the 27th muggiest in its 79-year period of record. That’s just outside the top third.
The dew point average was 65 degrees, according to the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. With that dew point, you’re feeling the humidity but you’re not sweating from every part of your body. For reference, the highest dew point was 68.4 degrees in 2018.
We can add that dew point to the well above average summer heat to give us what the heat index was like for June through August. That was noteworthy. 2024 was the eighth hottest looking at it this way.
How wet was summer 2024 at the Jersey Shore?
A drier June wound up fairly seasonable during July and August.
An average of 11.48 inches of rain fell in the Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist’s coastal division. The 1991-2020 climate average is 12.83 inches.
June’s 2.65 inches of precipitation was more than an inch below the 1991-2020 average.
July’s 4.46 inches and August’s 4.37 inches were both within a quarter inch of the average.
How did summer 2024 compare to the outlook?
As I traveled up and down the shore this spring, I said that summer would be hotter than usual, which it was.
Precipitation had a fairly good chance of being wetter than usual. That would lower the drought and wildfire concerns.
Drought did avoid the area during the summer. There were a few wildfires in the Pine Barrens. The largest was one caused by Fourth of July fireworks that burned over 4,000 acres, according to NJ.com. That’s not huge by New Jersey standards.
However, the Jersey Shore did wind up with precipitation slightly below average.
Joe earned his Meteorology Degree from Rutgers University. He is approved by the American Meteorological Society as a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and Certified Digital Meteorologist, the only one in the state with both. He’s won 10 New Jersey Press Association Awards. You can find him on social media @joemartwx
