N.J. weather: Is this our hottest summer on record? See the rankings.

You probably have heard this question at home, or work or in your neighborhood. Have New Jersey’s summers ever been this hot?

Well, it’s too early to draw any conclusions about the current summer, because we’re not even halfway through. But if recent months and long-range forecasts are any indication, the Garden State could be in the midst of its hottest summer on record — or at least one of its hottest.

That’s the word from New Jersey State Climatologist David Robinson, who helps oversee the state’s weather data and records going datign to the late 1800s.

Robinson and his assistant, Mat Gerbush, said the first half of 2024 has been the second hottest on record since New Jersey started keeping reliable temperature stats in 1895.

And last month — when we were all sweating through many days of high heat and high humidity — turned out to be the second hottest June on record in the Garden State.

Worldwide, it was the hottest June ever recorded, according to Copernicus, a European climate service.

“When you start off the three months of summer with a near record and start off July on the warm side, it stands to reason that 2024 could challenge as the warmest on record,” Robinson said told NJ Advance Media an email Monday afternoon. “But of course, 2010 started off warmer and kept on giving, so that could be tough to beat.”

New Jersey’s hottest summer on record in 2010 had daily temperatures (daytime highs and overnight lows) averaging out to a steamy 75.7 degrees in June, July and August, according to data from the state climatologist’s office.

The next two hottest summers in the Garden State were even more recent than that — 2020 (with an average temperature of 75.3 degrees) and 2022 (with an average temperature of 75.1 degrees).

Perhaps the most notable trend in New Jersey’s summer heat records: Of the 129 years of data, the 10 warmest summers have all been recorded during the past 25 years. So that mirrors the global trend of a warming climate.

One interesting anomaly came last summer, which was not a scorcher in New Jersey. Instead, the summer of 2023 turned out to be only the 38th warmest summer in the past 129 years, Robinson’s office said.

It was the state’s “coolest summer since 2014 and only one of three summers since 2010 coming in below normal.”

Steamy days this year

As for this summer, here’s a look at some of the steamy stats from the National Weather Service:

• The Newark area has already had 16 days with temperatures rising to 90 degrees or hotter, as of July 8. It usually averages 17 days that hot through July 31 and 25 days that hot the entire year.
• The Trenton area has already had 13 days with temperatures rising to 90 degrees or hotter, as of July 8. It usually averages 13 days that hot through July 31 and 18 days that hot the entire year.
• The Atlantic City area has already had 11 days with temperatures rising to 90 degrees or hotter, as of July 8. It usually averages 12 days that hot through July 31 and 18 days that hot the entire year.
• The Newark area had a seven-day heat wave in June (June 17 to June 23) and a four-day heat wave in July (July 5 to July 8). The latest heat wave is expected to continue at least three more days.
• The Trenton area had a six-day heat wave in June (June 18 to June 23) and a four-day heat wave in July (July 5 to July 8). The latest heat wave is expected to continue at least three more days.
• The Atlantic City area had a four-day heat wave in June (June 20 to June 23) and a three-day heat wave in July (July 5 to July 7). Monday’s high in AC was 89 degrees, so that ended the most recent heat wave in that area.

Current weather radar

Stories by Len Melisurgo

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• N.J. weather: Here’s how many steamy days we’ve had so far this summer
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com or on X at @LensReality.