New Jersey Monthly Temperature Departures

Residents of the Mid-Atlantic states have experienced some unusual temperatures this year. The winter of 2006/2007 (from December to February) was 2.3 degrees warmer than average as a result of record high temperatures in early winter. This graph incorporates climate information from over 150 weather stations around the state. By comparing new data to historical trends, put today's climate into context.

New Jersey Monthly Precipitation Departures

April of 2007 was the wettest April since records began in 1895. High rainfall caused flooding throughout the region, including in the Raritan Basin where water levels rose to their highest since Hurricane Floyd in 1999. Scientists predict that as the climate continues to warm, storm events bringing high rainfall to this region will become more intense.

Sea Level Trends in New Jersey

Sea level along the New Jersey coastline is rising at 3-4 mm/year. The effect of this sea level rise varies from place to place depending on the topography of the land.

Sea Level Trends in Atlantic City, New Jersey

Sea level at Atlantic City has risen by approximately 0.35 meters (14 inches) since records began in 1912. Roughly half of this trend is due to geological processes that have caused the land to subside. The other half is due to a rise in global sea level. The global component of sea level rise results from the thermal expansion of a warming ocean and the melting of mountain glaciers and ice sheets on land.

Sea Level Rise: Tidal Marsh Retreat Zones

Tidal salt marshes are a characteristic landscape feature of New Jersey's coastline. Marshes can respond to gradual rises in sea level by growing "up" into a rising sea or by retreating landward. The ability of a marsh to retreat is limited by human development and man-made structures. Along the New Jersey coast, 29% of the potential retreat zones are limited by human development and roadways.

Sea Nettles

The sea nettle (Chrysaora quinquecirrha), a stinging jellyfish purportedly increasing in abundance in New Jersey coastal bays in response to rising seawater temperatures. Sea surface temperatures in the Northeast region have increased by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, changing the habitat for temperature-sensitive marine creatures.

New Jersey's Fragile Barrier Islands

Nearly 60% of New Jersey's population lives in coastal regions. Yet the thin barrier islands and coastal bays that serve as New Jersey's playgrounds are particularly vulnerable to both rising seas and strengthening storms.

Delaware River Flood Events

Records of streamflow in the Delaware River have been kept for over a century. Three of the seven largest floods on record have occurred since 2004. The most recent flood took place during April 2007, which was the wettest April on record.

Coastal Upland Disturbance

The majority of New Jersey's cosatal buffer zone is in some form of human dominated land use. Within 500 m (1640.5 ft, or 0.3 miles) of the coast, 42% of the land is urban, transitional or mining, and 14% is used for agriculture. The remaining 44% is in natural land covers such as forest/scrub, freshwater wetland, freshwater lakes and streams, or beaches.

Bayside Vulnerability

Development right up to the shore in Seaside Park has placed homes and roadways in danger of rising seas and strengthening coastal storms.

Beach Nourishment

Barrier islands along the coast of New Jersey naturally get most of their sand from offshore since there are no major rivers on the mainland to supply sediment. Human infrastructure along the coast, however, demands the stabilization of beaches. Beach stabilization in the past has taken two approaches: hard, and soft. Beach nourishment, or adding sand to the beaches, is a soft form of stabilization, though it is not without its downsides.

Shoreline Housing

Beach houses such as this one in Cape May, New Jersey are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and stronger coastal storms.