Heat in New Jersey, August 6 to 10, 2001

A ridge of high pressure both surface and aloft that was broiling the central part of the country moved east and covered New Jersey during the work week of August 6th. This brought a very oppressive hot spell to the region that peaked on the 9th. It brought the hottest August temperature ever recorded at the Atlantic City International Airport (103 degrees). There were 25 heat related deaths in the Greater Philadelphia Metropolitan Area: one each occurred in Burlington and Gloucester Counties. In both instances, they were found indoors with windows closed and air-conditioning units (if available) not turned on. The second floor temperature of the deceased in Swedesboro (Gloucester County) was over 100 degrees. Dozens upon dozens of others suffered heat exhaustion. Emergency rooms were filled with outdoor workers, the elderly, asthmatics and dehydrations. One Ocean County hospital had a 40% increase in emergency room visits over normal. Ten percent of all the admitted patients in the Trenton Capital Health System were suffering from heat exhaustion. The hot weather and lack of wind produced unhealthy ozone levels. The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission issued a "code red" warning for ground level ozone concentration. All 21 New Jersey counties had unhealthy ozone levels from the 7th through the 10th. The hot weather put a strain on both electrical and water usage with several utilities setting records. The PJM Interconnection (An independent organization that coordinates electric delivery for 22 million people in Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey) set a usage record of 54,176 megawatts on the 9th. It was also forced to reduce voltage by 5 percent that day between 310 p.m. and 615 p.m. EDT to protect power reserves. In an effort to conserve electricity, acting Governor Donald T. DiFrancesco sent home 30,000 non-essential state workers at 2 p.m. EDT on the 9th. Colleges also cancelled classes. PSE&G (10,052 megawatts), GPU Energy (10,468 megawatts) and Conectiv Energy (2,847 megatwatts) all set usage records on the 9th. The heat caused outages throughout the state. On the 6th, 6,000 Camden (Camden County) residents lost power from noon until 9 p.m. EDT. On the 7th, 15 persons were evacuated and the whole Shrewsbury Township lost power when an electrical fire occurred on a power line. On the 8th, a transmission line failure caused 25,000 customers to lose power from 340 p.m. until 945 p.m. EDT from Dover to Lavallette. On the 9th, a power substation failure caused 13,000 central New Jersey customers to lose power for up to 8 hours. The excessive water usage caused Sparta (Sussex County) to issue a water emergency. Sparta and Newton (whose water supply was coming from Sparta due to the floods of last August) banned all daytime outdoor watering. Voluntary water restrictions were also asked by Hammonton (Atlantic County) and Madison (Morris County). The excessive heat took its toll on all outdoor activities. Many hospitals observed that heat exhaustion patients were mainly younger people who work outdoors. A letter carrier collapsed while delivering the mail in South River (Middlesex County). In Monmouth County, nine youths of the Howell-Farmingdale Pop Warner Football League suffered heat exhaustion during a practice. Firefighters collapsed from heat exhaustion while battling a blaze in Middletown (Monmouth County). Dozens of people suffered heat illnesses while attending the Sussex County Farm and Horse Show/The New Jersey State Fair. In East Brunswick, a 33-year-old man just collapsed in the street. The heat was blamed for the poor attendance at the Sussex County Fair. The heat was also blamed for the death of fish in the Barbara Moyer Memorial Park in Princeton (Mercer County). On the positive side, street crimes were down as it was too hot outside for even the criminals. Many townships and counties initiated programs to assist the elderly and distributed fans. The heat caused the buckling of Interstate 195 near Trenton and AAA reported a 15 percent increase in calls for assistance. In Morristown, the heat caused a mounted spare tire on the van to explode. The stainless steel and plastic spare wheel cover soared 25 feet in the air.Highest temperatures included 104 degrees in Iselin (Middlesex County), Vernon (Sussex County) and the McGuire AFB (Burlington County), 103 degrees in Morristown (Morris County), the Atlantic City International Airport (Atlantic County) and Mount Laurel (Burlington County), 102 degrees in Mount Holly (Burlington County) and Belle Mead (Somerset County), 101 degrees in New Brunswick (Middlesex County), Newton (Sussex County), Red Bank and Belmar (Monmouth County), 100 degrees in Hackettstown (Warren County), 99 degrees in Marcella (Morris County), Trenton (Mercer County) and Somerville (Somerset County), 94 degrees in Wildwood (Cape May County) and 91 degrees at the Atlantic City Marina. The 103 degree high temperature at the Atlantic City International Airport was the hottest August day ever on record and the hottest day at the airport since July 3, 1966 when it reached 104 degrees. A cold front moved into the region the evening of the 10th and stalled throughout the weekend (the 11th and 12th). While it did not remove the humid air in place, the clouds and precipitation prevented temperatures from reaching into the 90s after the 10th.