Stay in the air conditioning as much as possible, make sure your pets are cool, avoid exercise outdoors from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and carry water with you: The peak of the heat wave will be Monday. Temperatures will then be more of the typical summertime heat we’re used to for the rest of the week.
Temperatures Monday morning will start in the mid- to upper 70s. That’s about 10 degrees above average. Miami? New Orleans? Houston? That’s where our low temperatures feel more like.
West-southwest winds will blow throughout the day, as a cold front approaches from the west. Morning sunshine, with areas of fog (the fog won’t be like Sunday’s, though) will be present. We should be in the 80s by 8 to 9 a.m. and 90 by 11 a.m. on the mainland. We’ll then mix with a few afternoon clouds. An isolated thunderstorm still looks to be around after 2 p.m. or so.
Afternoon high temperatures will be in the mid-90s for most on the mainland. As I’ve been saying for the past few days, though, if storms wait until 4 or 5 p.m., we’ll be in the upper 90s. That west-southwest wind will pin back much of the sea breeze. So low 90s on the islands will be the deal.
When you factor in the dew points, which will be in the “sticky” low 70s, we’re talking a heat index near 110 inland with 100 at the shore.
Any thunderstorms will fizzle out by 9 p.m. Then we’ll have a mainly clear night. We’ll be in the 80s until around midnight. We’ll slide into the low 70s for inland lows, with mid-70s at the shore.
A weak, northeast wind will blow around a high pressure system Tuesday. The high pressure will keep us dry during the day. It will also take the edge off the high heat and dew points.
High temperatures will sit in the low 90s in Mays Landing and inland spots. The heat index will be in the upper 90s, far from unusual for a South Jersey summer. Margate and the shore will be in the seasonable mid-80s. It’ll be a fantastic day for the beach.
Low temperatures will be in the low to mid-70s again Tuesday night. I keep mentioning the lows because if you don’t have air conditioning, these are tough sleeping conditions, even with fans.
So we go to Wednesday. An impulse system will track across the region. This will make Wednesday our wettest day of the week, but it will not be a washout by any stretch. Isolated morning showers will give way to scattered afternoon storms. Damaging wind gusts will be possible. Temperatures will be similar to Tuesday’s. However, the moisture will be on the rise. Therefore, expect it to feel near 100 for everywhere but the sand during the day.
Thursday will have just isolated p.m. storms. Most outdoor plans and work will be a go. The heat will break Friday and into the weekend.
