We still have several weeks of spring left, but forecasters from AccuWeather have already weighed in on their predictions for the summer months of 2024.
If the forecast turns out to be on target, New Jersey will be facing a hotter than normal summer with multiple heat waves and far more 90-degree days than we experienced last summer.
That could spell good news for residents and vacationers along the Jersey Shore.
“A hot summer is expected for nearly all of the contiguous U.S. with only a few exceptions,” AccuWeather said in its summer forecast. “From June through August, temperatures are forecast to run at least 2 degrees above historical averages across more than half of the country.”
In the New Jersey region, temperatures this summer are expected to average 2 to 3 degrees hotter than normal, AccuWeather said.
Areas of the Garden State closest to New York and Philadelphia will likely see far more 90-degree days during the next three months than they saw last summer, according to AccuWeather.
For New York City, the private weather company is predicting as many as 21 to 26 days with temperatures reaching 90 degrees or hotter. The city had only 12 such days last summer and typically averages 16.
For Philadelphia, AccuWeather predicts 36 to 42 days with 90-degree temperatures this summer, compared to last year’s total of 24 and the city’s historical average of 30.
AccuWeather is not expecting an unusually wet summer in the New Jersey region, but severe thunderstorms could be a threat across any area of the nation, especially when the severe weather season ramps up in June and July.
Forecasters say August could turn out to be a very dry month in the northeastern U.S., so there may be an increased risk of wildfires.
AccuWeather’s prediction of a hot summer in New Jersey mirrors the long-range outlook issued by the Climate Prediction Center, a national agency affiliated with the National Weather Service.
The agency is calling for a high probability of warmer-than-average temperatures in May, June and July and only a slight chance of higher-than-average rainfall during those three months in the New Jersey region.
Current weather radar
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com or on X at @LensReality.
