Heat, Burlington
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Burlington forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.878, -74.668 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat in New Jersey, December 1 to 7, 1998
A very strong and persistent ridge of high pressure at all levels of the atmosphere remained anchored across the western Atlantic Ocean and the Middle and South Atlantic States from November 28th through December 7th. The result was 10 consecutive days of record breaking, unseasonably warm weather across New Jersey.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 20 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 20
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.
A very strong and persistent ridge of high pressure at all levels of the atmosphere remained anchored across the western Atlantic Ocean and the Middle and South Atlantic States from November 28th through December 7th. The result was 10 consecutive days of record breaking, unseasonably warm weather across New Jersey. Many locations set new all-time monthly record high temperatures for December. The warmest days were December 4th and 7th. December 7th was the warmest December day ever for the state of New Jersey since records were started in 1895. The highest temperatures during this warm spell included 78 degrees in Red Bank (Monmouth County) and Toms River (Ocean County), 77 degrees at the Atlantic City International Airport in Pomona, in Millville (Cumberland County), in Belle Mead (Somerset County) and New Brunswick (Middlesex County), 76 degrees in Cape May Courthouse (Cape May County), Piney Hollow (Gloucester County) and Trenton (Mercer County), 75 degrees in Erial (Camden County), 74 degrees in Hackettstown (Warren County), Chatham (Morris County), Lumberton (Burlington County) and the Marina within Atlantic City and 73 degrees in Andover (Sussex County) and on Long Beach Island (Ocean County). Daily record high temperatures were either set or tied at the Atlantic City International Airport on the 1st (65 degrees), 3rd (69 degrees), 4th (73 degrees) and 7th (77 degrees). The high of 77 degrees on the 7th established a new record for the month of December. The previous monthly record was 75 degrees set on December 29, 1984. Daily record highs were also set at the Marina within Atlantic City on the 1st (66 degrees), 4th and 7th (both 74 degrees). The high of 74 degrees on both the 4th and 7th also established a new monthly record for December. The previous was 72 degrees set on both the 18th and 29th of December 1984. In a paradoxical scene for early December, people were buying Christmas trees with shorts on. A cold front moved through the region late in the day on the 7th and dropped temperatures closer to normal levels.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
20 heat. Local standard time, as filed.
Heat, Camden
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Camden forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.804, -74.960 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Cumberland
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Cumberland forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.328, -75.129 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Eastern Atlantic
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Eastern Atlantic forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Eastern Cape May
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Eastern Cape May forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Eastern Monmouth
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Eastern Monmouth forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Eastern Ocean
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Eastern Ocean forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Gloucester
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Gloucester forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.717, -75.142 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Hunterdon
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Hunterdon forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.567, -74.912 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Mercer
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Mercer forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.283, -74.702 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Middlesex
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Middlesex forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.440, -74.409 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Morris
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Morris forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.862, -74.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Salem
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Salem forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.577, -75.358 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Somerset
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Somerset forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.564, -74.616 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Sussex
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Sussex forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 41.140, -74.690 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Warren
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Warren forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.857, -74.997 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Western Atlantic
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Western Atlantic forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.469, -74.634 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Western Cape May
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Western Cape May forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.085, -74.850 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Western Monmouth
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Western Monmouth forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 40.288, -74.158 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heat, Western Ocean
- When
- December 1, 12:00 AM EST to December 7, 6:00 PM EST
- Where
- Western Ocean forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 39.866, -74.250 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Heat
- Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Drought in Texas, December 1 to 31, 1998
- Drought in Texas, December 1 to 31, 1998
- Drought in New Mexico, December 1 to 31, 1998
- Flash Flooding and Heavy Snow in Washington, December 1 to 29, 1998
- Heavy Rain in California, December 1, 1998
- High Wind and Strong Wind in Massachusetts, December 1, 1998
- Drought in Virginia, December 1 to 31, 1998
- Heat in Kentucky, December 1 to 7, 1998
- Drought in New Mexico, December 1 to 31, 1998
- Heat in Wisconsin, December 1 to 6, 1998
- Heat in Illinois, December 1 to 8, 1998
- Storm Surge in California, December 1 to 5, 1998
More
Every storm in New Jersey in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in New Jersey, December 1998
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5675155, 5675156, 5675157, 5675158, 5675159, 5675160, 5675161, 5675162, 5675281, 5675282, 5675283, 5675284, 5675285, 5675286, 5675287, 5675288, 5675289, 5675290, 5675291, 5675292.