Smoke billows from a brush fire in Lakewood, N.J., that shut down the Garden State Parkway on Sunday, March 14, 2021. (Kevin Shea/NJ Advance Media via AP)
As much of southeastern New Jersey basks under the sunshine of the 14th straight rain and snow free day Monday, the dry, crispy ground created a breeding ground for wildfire spread, responsible for a large brush fire in and around Lakewood Sunday.
LAKEWOOD TOWNSHIP — A large brush fire in New Jersey on Sunday afternoon shut down a portion…
A Red Flag Warning was issued by the National Weather Service in Mount Holly for the second consecutive day Monday, in effect through 5 p.m. The alert is only issued for "critical fire weather conditions".
The National Weather Service will make a major change in 2024 that will discontinue the use …
On Sunday, a brush fire in Lakewood shut down a portion of the Garden State Parkway, damaged two commercial buildings and forced some residents to evacuate homes and stores. Videos from the scene near the airport in Lakewood showed clouds of thick, dark smoke and raging flames igniting trees and brush. The fire spread to nearly 170 acres Sunday evening.
😬😬😬
— Joe Martucci (@ACPressMartucci) March 14, 2021
Much respect to the NJ Forest Fire service today https://t.co/filt4GeVx4
The combination of low humidity, gusty winds and a dry ground is so significant that the New Jersey Forest Fire Service issues a stage 3 campfire restriction for another day Monday. The restriction bars agricultural burning and limits all fires in wooded areas unless it's in an elevated stove using propane, natural gas, gas or electricity.
Stemming from a large, cold, Canadian high pressure, humidity values Monday afternoon will be between 15% and 25%, very low. Wind gusts out of the northwest 20 to 30 will only fan any flames even more, while 10 hour fuel moisture levels, are below 10, coded red in the Rutgers New Jersey Weather Network's Fire Danger Monitoring Console.
As of noon Monday, the dew point, a measure of moisture in the air, was -3 degrees at Atlantic City International Airport. A dew point that low has never before occurred this late in the year, according to the Iowa Environmental Mesonet. In fact, no dew point below 0 was ever recorded in the airport's history in March in the noon hour, where March records go back to 1944.
The dry air is a continuation of the 14 day dry streak at A.C. International Airport and Sen. Frank S. Farley Marina in Atlantic City. The streak, as of Monday, holds the record for the longest dry streak solely within the month of March. This record is more impressive at the marina, one of the longest consistently reporting sites in the site, data extends back to 1874.
At the airport, this bested the previous March record of 13 set back in 1968. At the marina, the previous record was in 1990.
The 14 day streak does still fall short of dry streak that had a least one day of March included. At the airport, Mar. 16 to Apr. 3, 1986's 19 day streak holds that spot. The marina started the stretch four days later, beginning of Mar. 20, 1986, ending on Apr. 3.
These records should come with a grain of salt, though. March is the wettest month of the year at both reporting sites (4.21 inches of precipitation, which includes rain and melted snow, at the airport, 4.02 inches at the marina). This makes the 14 day stretch impressive, but only when compared to March itself.
Monthly average precipitation for Atlantic City International Airport for the 1981-2010 climate period.
For the all-time record, southeastern New Jersey would need to go dry into April to take the top spot. With a record-breaking storm system in the Rocky Mountains moving into South Jersey Tuesday, bringing rain showers for all and possibly snow showers for some, the streak will end Monday.
At the airport, this 14 day stretch is tied for the 72nd longest stretch in its 78 year history. For the marina, where records go back about twice as long as the airport, this streak is only the 129th longest since 1873.
The top spot went to a month-plus dry stretch between August and September of 1995. At the airport, this was a 34 day mark without a drop of rain from Aug. 13 to Sept. 15, 1995. At the marina, the streak was 39 days from Aug. 8 to Sept. 15, 1995. Of the ten longest dry spells, climatological fall dominates the record books, consisting of the time between September and November. Nine were during this time at the marina, with six at the airport.
The Associated Press contributed to this story
March 16, 2021 at 12:30AM
https://pressofatlanticcity.com/news/local/its-been-dry-14-days-in-a-row-a-march-record-and-thats-a-problem/article_e1fbdd7b-2212-59f8-9871-d25a4cfbabe1.html
It's been dry 14 days in a row, a March record, and that's a problem for wildfires - Press of Atlantic City
https://news.google.com/search?q=dry&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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