By Meteorologist Joe Martucci
Summer’s over!
Well, except for Locals’ Summer.
And as school starts for students, teachers, administrators and parents alike, our seventh annual Shore Summer Weekend Weather Report Card is ready for its final grade.
Every weekend, from the unlocking of the beaches Memorial Day to the Labor Day that just passed us, I grade the weather at the shore (shoutout to all of you who voted in the annual viewers’ choice on the Aug. 9-11 weekend, too).
The grading is subjective. However, after meeting and listening to you, I think it’s fair to say an ‘A’ means the weekend’s weather had:
1) A high temperature between 75 and 85 degrees.
2) No rain.
3) Anything from a partly sunny to sunny sky. We could all use a few clouds to break up the sun.
4) Low humidity.
5) A gentle breeze.
Since this is an average of all the days, a few hours of cloudy sky won’t ruin a perfect ‘A’.
At the same time, this is for the whole shore. A weekend where Brigantine sees pouring rain while Cape May is dry won’t mean an ‘F’ either.
Since this is summer, the weekends start early. My report card includes Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Memorial Day and Labor Day are also included in those weekends; Fourth of July this year was included in the July 5-7 weekend, too.
Summer 2024: A Very Good Student
Averaging the grades across all 15 weekends, summer 2024’s grade point average was a 3.3. That’s a ‘B+’.
In the seven summers that I’ve done the report card, this is a tie for the third best season on record. Just last year, summer at the shore earned a 3.3 grade point average.
The best scoring year was 2022, with a 3.4 grade point average. 2021 was the lowest scoring, with a 3.0 grade point average.
It’s only been seven years but its apparent that a ‘B’ or ‘B+’ is typical for us at the Jersey Shore for our summer weekends. Perhaps one year we’ll break into the ‘A’ range.
Summer 2024: In More Detail
We don’t grade on a curve here. However, for Memorial Day weekend standards, this year was pretty darn good. It earned a ‘B’.
Friday through Sunday were all very nice days. There was plenty of dry time, sunshine and gentle breezes. The only blemish was on the thermometer. It was a bit cool Saturday and Sunday, where highs were 70 to 75 degrees, according to the Rutgers New Jersey Weather Network.
Monday was the only poor beach day. Clouds, fog and storms made it tough to enjoy the shore comfortably.
In 2023 the weekend rated a ‘B,’ but it could be much worse. When many of the COVID-19 social distancing restrictions were lifted on the holiday weekend in 2021, the weather was a ‘D+’ in my book. It poured Friday night right through Sunday and temperatures barely budged out of the 60s.
Typically, our lower grades come in the first half of the season and our better marks arrive in the second half. That’s because, until mid-June, our climate is still subject to the nor’easters and chilly ocean breezes from spring.
However, this year was the opposite.
We ripped off a six weekend streak of ‘B+’ or better grades from May 31 – June 2 to the Fourth of July weekend. That included a ‘B+’ Independence Day weekend with excellent weather for the holiday weather itself and no washouts through Sunday.
Our lowest grade of the season came on July 12-14. That earned a ‘C’. That Friday was a washout and Saturday was dull and wet most of the time, too.
We had an ‘A’ the last weekend of July. Then, four of the five weekends from August to Labor Day weekend were a ‘B’. That’s certainly passing and provides plenty of at least decent weather for the beaches and bays. However, the first half did grade higher than the second half, unusually.
In all, here was the letter grade breakdown.
A: Three weekends
B+: Six weekends
B: Five weekends
C+: None
C: One weekend
D+ or lower: None
Comparing to 2024 to Prior Years
We continued the trend of having our weekends being graded at least a ‘C’ or higher throughout the season. The only two years with a ‘D+’ or lower were 2020 and 2021. Typically, we never have a truly bad weekend to be outside at the Jersey Shore this time of year.
Labor Day weekend’s ‘B’, turns out, is the lowest grade for the holiday weekend in the seven years of doing this. Every other year has been either a ‘B+’ or an ‘A’. It just shows why we say “shiver on Memorial Day, sweat on the Fourth of July, smile on Labor Day”.
Watch the Report Card Video
As tradition goes, I’ll give out the final grades of the Shore Summer Weekend Weather Report Card from Ocean City High School this weekend. Find it on my social media channels (@JoeMartWx).
Hope you all had a great summer! It’s a pleasure covering the summer for you here at Shore Local. Happy Locals’ Summer ahead!
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
