You’re not alone if some of your neighbors, co-workers or family members have said these words this summer: “I never remember it being so hot around here.”
Yes, it has been a very hot summer in New Jersey, and also in our neighboring regions of New York City and Philadelphia.
We’ve had at least two long heat waves, high humidity, two to three dozen days with temperatures soaring into the 90s, and several days with the mercury hitting the super-scorching triple digits.
But it’s nowhere close to record territory, in terms of how many days we’ve had with temperatures reaching 90 degrees or hotter, according to data from the National Weather Service’s main weather reporting stations in our region.
(Note: The data below was updated to include Aug. 10 and Aug. 11, the final days of the latest heat wave, which lasted 10 days in the Newark area and eight days in the Atlantic City area.)
Note: If you are unable to view the chart above on your device, click this link to see it.
In many places, last summer actually had more hot days than this summer. (How quickly we forget!) And it turned out to be the sixth hottest summer on record in New Jersey — based on statewide data for June, July and August going all the way back to 1895.
Those stats factor in not only the hot daytime highs but also the warm nighttime lows, which have been consistently creeping up during the past three to four decades, according to the office of New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson at Rutgers University.
New Jersey’s hottest summer ever was in 2010, and that’s the year most of the weather service reporting stations in our region (including Newark, Trenton and Atlantic City) recorded the highest number of 90-degree days. The state’s second hottest summer was in 2020 — just two years ago.
We still have the rest of August to go before we will know where the summer of 2022 will rank. But here’s a look at how many days we’ve had so far (up through Thursday night, Aug. 11) with the mercury reaching 90 degrees or hotter.
- Newark: 40 days so far this year, and 41 last year. The city’s historical average is 25 and its record is 54, set in 2010.
- Trenton: 24 days so far this year, and 23 last year. The city’s historical average is 18 and its record is 52, set in 2010.
- Atlantic City: 27 days so far this year, and 27 last year. The city’s historical average is 19 and its record is 46, set in 2010.
In case you’re wondering how many 100-degree days we’ve had this summer compared to normal, here’s a look:
- Newark: 6 days so far this year, and 0 last year. The city’s historical average is 1, and its record is 9, set in 1993.
- Trenton: 0 days so far this year, and 0 last year. The city’s historical average is 0, but its record is 4, set in 1991.
- Atlantic City: 0 days so far this year, and 0 last year. The city’s historical average is 0, but its record is 4, set in 2011.
Note: If you are unable to view the chart above on your device, click this link to see it.
Current weather radar
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com.
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