Heat in New Jersey, August 7 to 10, 2001

Name: Heat in New Jersey, August 7 to 10, 2001
Start: 2001-08-07T16:00
End: 2001-08-10T14:00
Location: New Jersey

August 7 to 10, 2001 · NWS OKX · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

The 6 day heat wave began on Sunday, August 5th, when temperatures first reached 90 degrees at Teterboro Airport. Record high temperatures at Newark Airport were broken on four consecutive days from August 6th through the 9th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 OKX wrote it up.

A Bermuda high pressure system "pumped" hot temperatures and high humidities across the region.The 6 day heat wave began on Sunday, August 5th, when temperatures first reached 90 degrees at Teterboro Airport. Record high temperatures at Newark Airport were broken on four consecutive days from August 6th through the 9th. High temperatures reached or exceeded 100 degrees at Newark Airport on three consecutive days from August 7th through the 9th. Heat indices peaked in urban areas on Thursday, August 9th and were near 110 degrees. Heat indices on Friday, August 10th also reached between 105 and 110 degrees in highly urbanized locations, as humidities increased despite slightly lower temperatures.On Monday, August 6th, high temperatures ranged from 94 degrees at Caldwell to a record breaking 97 degrees at Newark Airport. Heat indices ranged between 100 and 105 degrees. On Tuesday, August 7th, high temperatures ranged from 96 at Caldwell to a record breaking 100 degrees at Newark Airport. Heat indices ranged from around 100 at Caldwell to 105 degrees at both Newark and Teterboro. On Wednesday, August 8th, temperatures ranged from 98 degrees at both Caldwell and Teterboro to a record breaking 101 degrees at Newark. Heat indices ranged from around 100 degrees at Caldwell to 106 at Newark. On Thursday, August 9th, temperatures ranged from 100 degrees at Caldwell to a record breaking 105 degrees at Newark Airport. Heat indices ranged from around 101 degrees in Caldwell to a scorching 109 degrees in Newark. On Friday, August 10th, high temperatures ranged from 94 degrees at Caldwell, to 99 at Newark Airport. High humidity levels on the 10th led to heat indices between 105 and 110 degrees.As temperatures rose higher each day, demand for electricity increased. Scattered power outages first occurred in urban areas on August 7th, and became more widespread on August 9th and 10th.Several large fish kills were reported in shallow ponds across northern New Jersey due to the extreme heat. In Saddle Brook, a pond in the Saddle River County Park had nearly 1700 dead fish, according to Park officials.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS New York, NY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 7, 1:30 PM EST, 2 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 7, 1:30 PM EST, 2 hours 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NEW YORK NY
230 PM EDT TUE AUG 7 2001

THE STRONG UPPER RIDGE WHICH EXTENDS OVER MOST OF THE COUNTRY WILL
BE SUPPRESSED SLOWLY SOUTHWARD OVER THE NEXT FEW DAYS AS A TROF
MOVES INTO THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY ON THURSDAY. AT THE
SURFACE...HIGH PRESSURE OFF THE MID AND SOUTH ATLANTIC COASTS WILL
REMAIN STATIONARY THROUGH THURSDAY. THIS WILL RESULT IN THE HOT AND
HUMID WEATHER CONTINUING FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK. AS THE UPPER TROF
MOVES ACROSS THE NORTHEAST ON FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY A COLD FRONT
WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE REGION BRINGING A NORTHWEST FLOW OF COOLER AND
DRIER AIR FOR THE WEEKEND. WINDS AND SEAS WILL REMAIN BELOW SCA
CRITERIA THROUGH THE PERIOD. WILL CONTINUE THE HEAT ADVISORY INTO
THIS EVENING.

.OKX...
CT...NONE.
NJ...HEAT ADVISORY THIS EVENING NJZ005-006-011
NY...HEAT ADVISORY THIS EVENING NYZ072>077
MARINE...NONE.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Western Passaic

When: August 7, 4:00 PM EST to August 10, 12:00 PM EST
Where: Western Passaic forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 41.034, -74.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Bergen

When: August 7, 4:00 PM EST to August 10, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Bergen forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Eastern Passaic

When: August 7, 4:00 PM EST to August 10, 1:00 PM EST
Where: Eastern Passaic forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 41.034, -74.300 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Essex

When: August 7, 4:00 PM EST to August 10, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Essex forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

Heat, Hudson

When: August 7, 4:00 PM EST to August 10, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Hudson forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 40.731, -74.076 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Union

When: August 7, 4:00 PM EST to August 10, 2:00 PM EST
Where: Union forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC

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

Every storm in New Jersey in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in New Jersey, August 2001

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: 5265047, 5265048, 5265049, 5265050, 5265051, 5265052.