Jersey surf temperatures have been in the 70s, but shifting winds may cool them
Last summer, surf temperatures at Atlantic City dropped 20 degrees in a week.
After simmering in the sun during two June hot spells, the surf temperatures at the Jersey Shore have risen to late-August levels, approaching 75 degrees on Tuesday afternoon.
“It’s definitely warm out there,” said Rutgers University oceanographer Michael Crowley. “Lots of brutally hot days the last few weeks have warmed us up quite a bit.”
That Tuesday afternoon reading was 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit above normal for the date, said Matthew Oliver, a professor of marine science and policy at the University of Delaware. And that’s about as warm as it ever has gotten on a July 1, he added.
However, change is in the wind, Crowley said, and don’t be surprised if winds from a more westerly direction Thursday into Friday have a chilling effect on the waters.
Another ‘upwelling’ event is possible at the Shore
“That’s a thin layer at the top,” Dave Dombek, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc., said of the warm water.
Surf temperatures can change rapidly, he added, when winds blow away that warmth, like blowing the steam off a hot cup of coffee, and allow chillier waters to rise toward the surface. That’s a common phenomenon known as “upwelling.”
On July 30 last year, the surf temperature at Atlantic City, as measured off Steel Pier by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, reached 76 degrees Fahrenheit. On the morning of Aug. 6, it was down to 56.
Another chill may be coming, Crowley said. He said a Rutgers glider near Long Beach Island has been monitoring the waters the last few days and has detected a drop in the bottom temperatures.
“I’d bet we get our first upwelling of the season within the next few days based on the wind forecast,” said Crowley, head of the Rutgers Center for Ocean Observing Leadership.
Noting that the Atlantic City temperatures had backed off a few degrees Wednesday, he said, “Perhaps it’s starting?”