First, focusing on February, milder-than-normal temperatures and limited snowfall were the rule, a short-lived frigid blast was followed by 70° warmth, and the most notable February tornado of at least the past 74 years touched down. Northern counties averaged 5.4” (-1.8”, 56th least snowy), central counties 1.5” (-3.9”, 46th least snowy), and southern counties 0.0” (-2.7”, tied with 37 other years as least snowy).Ībnormal conditions were seemingly the norm cross the Garden State during the second month of 2023 and, for that matter, during much of the winter (December–February). This was 2.8” below normal and ranks as 49th least snowy. March statewide average snowfall was 1.8”. The northern coast and northeast were wettest and the southwest and far south driest. Statewide, precipitation averaged 2.75”, which is 1.45” below normal and ranks 29th driest of the past 129 years. The National Centers for Environmental Information northern division averaged 39.8° (+1.0°, 31st mildest), the southern division 43.5° (+1.1°, 31st mildest), and the coastal division 43.7° (+1.5°, 23rd mildest). The average minimum of 32.1° was 0.9° on the mild side, ranking 29th mildest. ![]() The average maximum temperature of 52.2° was 1.3° above normal, ranking 37th mildest. This was 1.2° above the 1991–2020 normal and ranks as the 30th mildest March since 1895. The average March temperature across NJ was 42.1°. This quelled concerns that an early blooming season might arise, one that could result in damaged vegetation had an early bloom been followed by an unseasonable cold spell. While March temperatures came in above normal, they were not nearly as anomalously mild as those seen in January and February. These rains were reported in morning observations on May 1st, thus will be included in May totals. It is important to note that these totals and those for individual stations in the next section, do not include heavy rain that fell after standard early morning observation times at CoCoRaHS and National Weather Service Cooperative stations on April 30th. All but scattered areas in the northwest received above-normal precipitation, the greatest amounts falling near the Atlantic and Delaware Bay coasts. It was the wettest April since 2007 and second wettest since 1983. This was 2.14” above normal, ranking as the 10th wettest on record. Northern counties averaged 53.5° in April (+3.6°, 5th warmest), southern counties 56.6° (+4.0, 2nd warmest), and the coastal zone 55.8° (+4.1°, 2nd warmest).Īpril precipitation averaged 5.84” across New Jersey. The average April maximum temperature across NJ was 67.4° (+4.7°, 3rd warmest) and the average minimum was 43.4° (+3.1°, 5th warmest). This exceeds the previous record of 44.2° in 2012, with seven of the 10 warmest January–April periods (1895–present) occurring since 2002. The first four months of 2023 come in as the warmest start of the year on record with an average of 44.4°. April was the fifth month of the past ten ranking in the top 10, joining July (#7), August (#1), January (#1), and February (#5). This ranks as the third warmest April on record (since 1895) only behind 20 for top honors. ![]() What can you say about a month that began with a swarm of tornadoes, finished with flooding rain, and in between, featured record heat, wildfires, and increasing drought concerns? Best to say that it was an odd one! Fitting this theme, the statewide average temperature of 55.4° was 3.9° above the 1991–2020 normal.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |