New Jersey will see mostly clear skies on Christmas Eve as temperatures remain frigid after a deep freeze and heavy wind gusts ripped through the state Friday, recording the coldest temperature in nearly four years.
Temperatures will range from the single digits to the lower 20s Saturday and Sunday, as wind gusts continue to move across New Jersey at up to 25 to 30 mph, the National Weather Service said.
A wind chill advisory was in effect overnight, with wind chills as low as 15 degrees below zero, but the advisory will end at 10 a.m. today, the agency said.
The storm that was affecting us yesterday has moved out, said Cameron Wunderlin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Mount Holly. Theres not going to be any significant weather for the weekend other than it being pretty cold and a little breezy.
A powerful Arctic cold front swept across New Jersey Friday afternoon sending temperatures tumbling so fast that weather forecasters and public safety officials were warning drivers about rapid icing on the roads.
In some areas of the Garden State, water levels from the heavy rain, brutal winds and high-tide cycle were the highest seen since Superstorm Sandy in October 2012, according to the weather service. The rainfall also caused some flooding in parts of Monmouth and Bergen counties.
The bitter temperatures had power companies asking their customers to reduce their use of electricity through Sunday morning. PJM Interconnection, which operates the electricity grid in 13 states including New Jersey, said demand for electricity had leaped with the cold weather, and could stress the system.
Overnight, the lowest recorded temperature in New Jersey was 7 degrees, the coldest the state has seen since Jan. 31, 2019, according to the National Weather Service.
As cold as it was on Christmas Eve morning, no record lows were set in the New Jersey region, according to preliminary data from the National Weather Service. However, there is a possibility some records could be set for the coldest highs for Dec. 24.Len Melisurgo | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
The mornings lows were the coldest recorded on Christmas Eve in the region since 1989, but no daily records were matched or broken.
The lowest temperatures on record for Dec. 24 were 4 degrees below zero in Trenton (1983), 1 degree below zero in Atlantic City (1983), 3 degrees in Newark (1983) and 2 degrees in New Brunswick (1989). Saturday mornings preliminary lows were 5 degrees in Trenton, 8 degrees in Atlantic City, 8 degrees in Newark and 6 degrees in New Brunswick.
Even though no record lows were set, forecasters say there is a possibility some areas of our region could set records later today for the coldest high temperatures on Dec. 24. Newark and Atlantic City would have to remain below 21 degrees to set their records, and Trenton would have to stay below 18 degrees for its record.
After a night of icy streets throughout the state Friday, there will still be some patches of ice on the roadways Saturday.
Other than those little puddles of ice on the side of the road, theres not going to be any hazards, Wunderlin said.
Meteorologists predict a chance of cloudy skies later today, but there will not be enough precipitation for the likelihood of rain.
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NJ Advance Media staff writers Camille Furst, Len Melisurgo and Riley Yates contributed to this report.
Nicolas Fernandes may be reached at nfernandes@njadvancemedia.com