Following a winter of widely-varying conditions, likely in part due to the influence of the major El Niño event that has been underway since last fall, it is useful to look back at past spring weather in years that, like this year, experienced strong El Niños. While certainly not providing a definitive forecast for what we might see over the next several months, this exercise will provide some insights into what might be seen.
Snow in Hillsborough (Somerset County) on the morning of January 23rd.
Overview
Surfers and other beach goers on Christmas day near Asbury Park (Monmouth County). Photo by Robyn Gerbush.
December Overview
Listed below is the Office of the NJ State Climatologist’s ranking of the top 10 weather and climate events of 2015. More about each event can be found in the monthly narratives posted on njclimate.org. You might be tempted to rearrange the rankings, particularly as some of the events down the list may have affected you more than others ranked higher. Or perhaps you best recall one that didn’t make the list. That’s the enjoyment (and frustration!) of lists.
NJ State Climatologist Dave Robinson contributed to this report.
A Pinelands wildfire in Woodland Twp (Burlington County) on September 7. (Photo by B10 NJ Wildland Fire Page).
About 70% of the fresh water used around the world is devoted to irrigation, and a similar figure holds true with respect to New Jersey’s water use. Much of this in New Jersey is put towards lawn watering. It is apparent to anyone paying attention to the frequency and timing of when lawns are watered that, just as research suggests, many New Jersey homeowners are over-irrigating their lawns.
