NJ Climatic Classification

& Weather Analysis

Justin Saginor

Spring 2023

Lecture: ENVL-2100-001
Laboratory: ENVL-2105-001
Table of Contents
❖ Figures List
❖ Tables List
❖ References
❖ Abstract
❖ NJ Climate Introduction
❖ Personal Observation
➢ Temperature
➢ Precipitation
➢ Weather Pattern
❖ 2023 Climate Comparison
❖ Conclusion

Figures
Figure 1 : NJ Strahler Climate Classification Map
Figure 2 : Personal Observation Location Map
Figure 3 : Observation Period Temperature Line Graph
Figure 4 : Observation Period Precipitation Bar Graph
Figure 5 : 2023 Deviation from 30 Yr Average Line Graph
Figure 6 : 30 Yr Daily Average Temperature Line Graph

Tables
Table 1 : Temperature Raw Data (Jan 26th - Feb 26th) LEFT
Table 2 : 30 Yr Daily Average Raw Data (Jan 26th - Feb 26th) RIGHT
Abstract

The purpose of this lab report is to analyze New Jersey’s climate and focus on its
temperature and precipitation. From January 26th 2023 to February 26th 2023 I observed the
weather at a certain location every day, and recorded data in a provided journal. In addition to the
personally observed regional weather data a more standardized data set was collected from
NOAA. An in-depth Excel sheet was requested from NOAA covering the same time period in
which we observed. The closest NOAA weather reporting station to my observation location was
the Atlantic City Airport. Approximately 5 miles from where I was observing on campus at
Stockton University. This report examines temperature and precipitation variation throughout the
time period; as well as comparing the 2023 data to the 30 year average. New Jersey's global
climate classification according to the Strahler method is displayed and explained thoroughly in
the following sections. The 5 different factors affecting a location's weather / climate are also
discussed to broaden the analysis of New Jersey's weather over a larger period of time.

NJ Climate Introduction

According to the Strahler Climate Classification (it includes the 13 different climate
types) New Jersey consists of two climate classification types. Those being a moist continental
climate, and a moist subtropical climate. Regions of New Jersey are maritime regions and those
locations fall into their own category. The following Figure 1 shows the climate classifications,
and where they lie within the state. The moist continental climate group is primarily the northern
and central part of the state, while the moist subtropical group is primarily the southern part of
the state. The moist continental climates, which in this case is the northern of the two climate
groups seen in New Jersey, typically have warm to cooler summers due to the distance from the
ocean and colder winters due to the lack of maritime weather stability. The moist subtropical
climates (the southern zone) are located in mid latitudes like South New Jersey. They generally
have warm and humid summers with mild to colder winters. This climate zone extends from 30
to 50° of latitude.
 There are essentially five main factors that influence the air temperature at any single
location anywhere on earth. These factors include the latitude of the location, the altitude of the
location, the distance from a sea / ocean, air, mass circulation, and surface type. The location that
I was observing from was either my dorm or athletic complex; both located at Stockton
University within 1 mile of each other so for the sake of data analysis I will just refer to my
observation location as my dorm. Of all the factors that can influence air temperature I believe
that maritime influence plays the largest role in the daily temperature compared to other
locations. Oceans have a high heat capacity and do not fluctuate temperatures easily. This steady
large body of water with a consistent temperature makes the locations around it have a less
variable climate as compared to those in a more interior continental location.

As far as global atmospheric circulation goes New Jersey sits between prevailing
westerlies and northern westerlies. These strong westerly winds carry storms across the country,
and thus a large percentage of the precipitation New Jersey receives comes from those flows . A
more gentle rain storm, or even severe thunderstorm is likely carried by these westerly flows
across the continental United States. More severe storms, or winter cyclones that come off the
ocean like a severe northeastern wreak havoc along the Jersey shore. Frigid temperatures and a
strong storm surge frequently caused issues for shore towns. During my observation period there
were only 10 days that observed any type of precipitation and of those 10 days five of them were
over 5 cm. This time of year is not known for significant precipitation due to generally stable
atmospheric conditions.

Personal Observations
Location / General Overview
The personal weather observation section of the lab recorded a majority of the
observations from my dorm at Stockton University. Stockton University is located in Atlantic
County, New Jersey. It is in a heavily wooded area of the pinelands with a variety of pine trees,
cedar trees and cedar swamps that intertwine to make up the vast property that is Stockton
University. The campus is approximately 10 miles from the open ocean and 4 miles from the bay
tributaries. Since Stockton is located in south New Jersey, it falls within the moist subtropical
climate classification zone. Only 20 miles to the north can you find yourself in the moist
continental climate zone, so there is likely a buffer between the two zones that Stockton can find
itself within. On the following map, you can see my observation location marked with a blue
dice. Since we needed to acquire more standardized data from NOAA from the closest regulated
weather station to my observation point you can see that Atlantic City airport was my
standardized location. The airport is also marked on the map with an image of a plane.
 Of the month that we were supposed to be observing (Jan 26th - Feb 26th) I only
observed approximately 17 days. I am a very busy and active person while at school; between
classes and being a full-time athlete I do not find myself to have a lot of time to just sit around
and look at the weather. Therefore I did a lot of my observing as I was walking to and from class
or practice throughout the day. Then at night I will sit down and write down the temperature,
humidity and other quantitative numbers that I need in addition to my daily account.

Temperature

Upon analyzing the standard data provided by the Atlantic City airports weather station I
can summarize the temperature trends during the observation period. The average temperature
throughout the observation period was 5.05°C. The temperature ranged from frigid cold days of
-6.65°C on February 4. And the warmer end of the range was 14.15°C on February 16. so within
a 12 day period the temperature ranged nearly 20°C. I of the 32 days observed five of those days
high temperatures below 0°C. There was a cold snap from February 1 to February 4 where the
average temperature did not exceed reason. The warmest maximum of any day was on February
10, with a maximum temperature of 17°C. The day with the lowest minimum temperature was
also on February 4 with a minimum temperature of -11.1°C.

Figure 3 above shows the data plotted on a horizontal line graph. The average
temperature is the dark blue line. The maximum temperature is the gray line. And the minimum
temperature is the light blue line. When you are looking at the lines on the graph from bottom to
top, it is shown as the minimum temperature, average temperature, and then the maximum
temperature. Upon visually analyzing this graph, you can see that there is a slight increase in
average temperature throughout the 32 day period. This is due to the fact that we are slowly
coming out of the cold winter months and heading into spring. January and February are still two
of the coldest months here in New Jersey so there is not a lot of increase but statistically there is
a slight difference as time goes on. An interesting point that I saw on this figure was the graft
representation of the cold break that I mentioned from February 1 to February 4. You can see on
the graph that the temperatures continue to decrease during this three day period and then on
February 5 they drastically increase back to above freezing. Over 24 hours. There was a 10°
change in average temperature.

Precipitation

In addition to having a detailed temperature analysis of the observation time from

January 26 to February 26. I was also able to analyze the precipitation during this 32 day
timeslot. In total over the 32 days there was approximately 36.9 cm of precipitation. The daily
average was 1.15 cm. Of the 32 days that I observed only 10 of them actually had measurable
precipitation. A vast majority of the precipitation came in the form of rainfall because it all
happened on days where the average temperature was over freezing.. There might’ve been one or
two days in which the precipitation came down as snow or slush because the average was
slightly below freezing but none of that was noted. The overall trend for the precipitation was a
rainy day, a nice four or five days and then another rainy day. This is typical for this time of year,
where you would have warm or cold fronts, going back-and-forth, and the wall of them would
carry slight precipitation. On February 16 and February 17. It was a warm and rainy time. The
total precipitation for these two days was over 15 cm and the average temperature didn’t drop
below 12°C. Figure below is a visual representation of the precipitation during the observation
period. Days that experience any form of precipitation are marked with a vertical bar of the
corresponding precipitation in centimeters. It rained for two days. That I just mentioned is shown
on the graph with two of the four highest precipitation days back to back.
 Unique Weather Pattern / System

During the 32 day observation period ranging from January 26 to February 26. The
weather was generally calm and monotone. When tasked with analyzing a certain age, weather
period of noticeable change, I instantly recalled the four day period in which the average
temperature did not exceed freezing. In the previous temperature section of this report, I noted
that from February 1 to February 4 the average temperature did not exceed freezing. This
four-day cold burst had minimum temperatures all the way down to -12°C, and the biggest
maximum was 3°C. This was a series of four days in which the temperatures were very very
cold. Prior to these extreme cold temperatures there was a measurable 4 cm of precipitation
during one day. so if you look at the rain that came in and then a four day cold. Afterwards it
makes me believe that this was likely a large cold front that moved through the area. As we
determined in the lecture , when a cold front moves through the front of the wall it carries
precipitation, and then directly after it is followed by a series of clear and extreme cold days like
we saw from February 1 to February 4.
2023 Climate Comparison

In all of the previous sections of the slab report, I have analyzed the 32 day observation
timelot against itself. I analyze temperature and precipitation during this time slot but I have yet
to mention how it compares to the average annual temperatures and precipitation from years
prior. Using data from the 1991 to 2020 climate normal data set provided by NOAA I was able to
summarize overall trends that 2023 compared to annual averages. Overall 2023 had slightly
warmer average temperatures compared to the 30 year average. The 30 year average had
temperatures ranging from 1°C to 4°C depending on the day. Although the 2023 data set did
have days that follow these parameters coming into the later part of February a majority of the
days had average temperatures that exceeded this annual average. The precipitation did not vary
much from the 30 year average. It was a bit in the range of 30 cm to 50 cm.

Figure 5 above shows the deviation in average temperature by day and graphed as a
horizontal line chart. I took the average 2023 day temperature and subtracted that from the
annual average temperature and created a deviation from the average. If 2023 was warmer or
colder than the average it was marked on the graph as a negative or a positive value. The graph
appears to be the same as all of the other temperature graphs. The only thing that varies is the Y
axis values. Some days in late February deviated by up to 11°C. And that cold snap that I
discussed on February 1 to February 4 deviated by nearly -8°C.

Figure 6 as shown above contains the 2023 data set and the annual 30 year average data
set. The 2023 average is graphed as the light blue line and has lots of variation between the daily
data points. The 30 year average is the dark blue line and shows a gradual increase as viewed
from left to right. This average annual increase in temperatures is due to the climate, moving
farther away from the cold winter months and heading into the spring. As I previously
mentioned, January and February are the coldest months here in New Jersey so there is not a
large increase in average temperatures.
Conclusion

Overall, the lab did a very good job of improving my weather analysis and observation
skills. It also helped me improve my ability to analyze numbers from a data set and apply what I
have learned from lecture to the values provided. When you just look at the numbers on a
spreadsheet, it’s hard to get an idea of what it actually means. For example when I mention that
cold break where the average temperature didn’t go above freezing from February 1 to February
4. I used the rainy day before as a clue to make an educated guess that a cold front moved
through and that’s why the days after the rain we’re so cold with no precipitation. Overall, my
personal observations lined up pretty well with the data. When the average temperature was
warm I stated that it was warm, and if it was extremely cold I mentioned how frigid it felt when
the wind came across Lake Fred on my walk to class. Nothing really surprised me besides the
fact that I felt like it was much rainier than what the data set showed. I had a couple days in
which I mentioned there was slight precipitation or moisture in the air, but those days didn’t have
any precipitation values when I collected the data set from the Atlantic City airport.
Overall, my personal observations and the standardized data lined up pretty well. If I did
this exercise at a different time of year, I would see completely different types of weather
patterns. For example, if I did this in the summer, I would see much warmer days with a larger
range between a daily maximum and minimum temperature due to solar heating. I would likely
also see more days with precipitation due to scattered thunderstorms. If I did this study in late
summer or early fall and a hurricane comes up the coast, my data set would look pretty standard
and then all of a sudden there would be a drastic increase in the precipitation total. Overall, the
lab helped me understand the complexity of New Jersey’s climate as well as improve my data
analysis and knowledge application skills.

References
(https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/us-climate-normals/)

(https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/search/data-search/daily-summaries)

Weather Lecture

Climate Lecture