Rain and windy continues through this weekend

Heavy rain and winds sustained at 15 to 25 mph have been observed since last night as the first round of heavy rain continues to move through the Philadelphia and New York City metropolitan area.

A break in the heavy rainfall is expected for late this morning into the early afternoon hours as a new coastal low takes shape once again.  As a new area of strong lifting develops over eastern portions of North Carolina and over the coastal waters of the Mid Atlantic, an area of sinking air has developed over Delaware and Maryland, which will push north over the Philadelphia and New York City metropolitan area.  This break in the heavy rainfall will be marked by continued windy conditions, drizzle, and generally raw conditions with temperatures in the 40's to lower 50's.

As the new coastal low takes hold and intensifies this afternoon and evening, another round of heavy rain is expected with sustained winds of 20 to 40 mph along the coast with gusts over 50 mph, perhaps exceeding 60 mph over the coastal waters.  Further inland, winds will be weaker due to increased friction of the land, thus winds will range from 15 to 30 mph with gusts exceeding 40 mph at times.  The heavy rainfall combined with the strong winds will have a variety of impacts from coastal flooding to flash flooding, wind damage, low visibility, and significant driving difficulties.  Further, there is a potential for power outages and falling trees due to the duration of the strong winds over the area.  Rainfall amounts through tomorrow are expected to range from an additional 1 to 4 inches of rain with the heaviest rain expected over southern and central New Jersey, the five boroughs of New York City, Long Island, and southern Connecticut.  The worst conditions are expected from 3 PM this afternoon on through 6 AM Sunday morning.

The low pressure system will slowly lift north and east on Sunday with lingering showers, heavy at times, through the day and into the overnight hours.  Showers will linger into Monday morning followed by clearing conditions and a drying northwesterly wind.

The rest of next week and into next weekend is looking excellent with strong high pressure in control and temperatures returning to near to above normal levels in the 50's and 60's.  So consider this weekend as an excellent movie weekend and next weekend the a time to be outdoors and enjoying the great weather conditions!

For the best analysis and coverage of New Jersey weather, trust in NY NJ PA Weather!  Do you need an edge in getting the most detailed analysis on how weather conditions will impact your traveling, boating and fishing, or energy needs? Then you need NY NJ PA Weather Premium Membership!

Comment

Curley’s Tactics Are No Surprise

Posted via MoreMonmouthMusings

That John Curley is shaking things up in Freehold should be no surprise to anyone. His tactics (detractors would say antics) are perfectly consistent with his past performance as a councilman in Red Bank and perfectly consistent with his performance on the campaign trail during the two previous elections. We got the Freeholder we nominated twice and elected on the second try. We didn’t get a collegial compromising team player. We got a maverick fighting Irishman. We got a loose cannon minority of one who doesn’t care whose toes he steps on or whose feelings he hurts.

Yet, even some of Curley’s strongest supporters are acting surprised, encouraging him to tone it down or making excuses for him.

“John is used to being in the minority, I need to talk to him,” one supporter said. He’s heard that before.

“I don’t disagree with what he’s trying to do, but I wish he’d tone it down and do it behind closed doors,” said another. Anyone who has seen Curley behind closed doors knows that the performances we are seeing in public is John toned down.

That is who we elected.

Curley may be crazy. Crazy like a fox. He knows he can’t negotiate the spending cuts he’s calling for behind closed doors.

Like the mavericks that preceded him on the Freeholder Board, Amy Handlin and Anna Little, Curley knows how to use the press and public opinion to forward his agenda.

Curley is always going to be outspoken and outrageous. That is who he is. He is not always going to be right, but in the case of the current county budget being considered, he is right.

We have more government than we can afford in New Jersey. Even in AAA rated Monmouth County. Even in Middletown, Highlands, Wall, Howell and insert the name of your town here.

Governor Christie is going to introduce a state budget next week that is likely to be shockingly painful in the cuts he calls for. I hope it is. We have more government than we can afford. We need to do the same in Monmouth County and in our hometowns. We can’t do more with less. We just need to do less. We need a cultural shift.

Taxpayers are already getting by with less, making painful choices and changing our lifestyles. We will accept less government services in exchange for more money to pay our mortgages and take care of our families.

Monmouth County and insert the name of your town and school board here must not raise property taxes this year. Even keeping taxes flat is too much.

Cut, cut, cut spending. Then cut it some more. A $10+ million or $7+ million tax increase on the county level is unacceptable. Anything other than a tax decrease is unacceptable.

Comment

Very heavy rain is on the way for New Jersey coast

The coastal low is clearly becoming the primary low pressure system this evening as very strong lifting is developing off the coast along with a classic satellite signature of cyclogenesis.

The radar this hour is clearly showing an area of very heavy rain just south of Cape May, New Jersey moving north towards the coast.  The rain currently over much of the forecast area will continue to drift north and west into the Hudson Valley and central New York as the new coastal low also drifts north.

The precipitation associated with the coastal low is producing DBZ well over 40DBZ, which is very heavy rainfall.  Estimated rainfall amounts of a quarter of an inch an hour is being observed via Doppler radar estimates as this rain movesnorth.

Meanwhile, winds are rapidly increasing in intensity as the pressure gradient tightens over much of the Mid Atlantic.  Observed winds are now ranging from 15 to 30 mph throughout the region with gusts exceeding 35 mph over many locations.

Travel conditions will be significant impacted tonight by this heavy rainfall and travel is not recommended.  I know it is Friday night and all, but if you do have to go out there, remember to drive slowly.  The combination of strong wind gusts with the heavy rainfall will significantly reduce visibility below a mile at times and the moderate to major ponding on the road ways will makehydroplaning a significant issue when attempting to slow down or stop.

This storm is expected to continue to intensify and slow down off the New Jersey coast.  As the upper low over the Mississippi Valley drives into the Tennessee Valley overnight, the surface low will stall off the New Jersey coast with heavy rain through tomorrow evening along with strong wind gusts.

The storm is expected to slowly exit on Sunday with lingering showers through Monday morning.  Next week however is looking better and better with each model run with dry conditions and temperatures pushing into the 50's and even 60's for highs.

For the best analysis and coverage of New Jersey weather, trust in NY NJ PA Weather!  Do you need an edge in getting the most detailed analysis on how weather conditions will impact your traveling, boating and fishing, or energy needs? Then you need NY NJ PA Weather Premium Membership!

Comment

Young and Musical at Heart: Applewood’s New Music Suite for Elderly Residents

At the end of one of the long residents’ corridors in Applewood Estates—the CentraState-affiliated senior living center in Freehold Township—the sound of violins can be heard singing uncertainly from inside a resident apartment.

Fran Redlich, 91, of Applewood Estates, has been playing the flute since she was 50.

“We think the acoustics sound pretty good so far,” says Marjorie Stine, 81, a resident and the center’s band and chorus leader as she taps the piano keys. Stine and five others—three with violins, one with a flute, and one on mandolin—are having their first rehearsal in the new resident music suite. Read more

Comment

Wet rush hour marks the start of soaked weekend

The rain is here and it is not going to be stopping any time soon through this weekend, which will be a perfect time to catch up on some movies, a good book, or perhaps finally conquer a very difficult video game.  What ever you do this weekend, it likely will not be done outdoors.

Light to moderate rain continues to develop and expand north and west over much of the Philadelphia and New York City metropolitan area.  This rainfall is not directly connected to what will be an impressive coastal storm tomorrow morning, but is a result of the developing moisture advection at the mid levels off the Atlantic and a stationary front positioned along the New Jersey coast.  The isentropic lifting produced by this frontal boundary is supporting the development of this rainfall, which will have breaks in the steady rain from time to time.  However, for this rush hour, steady rain and increasing winds from 15 to 20 mph with gusts over 25 mph can be expected for the New York City metropolitan area down through the northern Philadelphia metropolitan area.  More scattered rainfall can be expected further south and west, over the Hudson Valley, and Connecticut. Read more

2 Comments

FHS Senior Spotlighted for College-Level Research

Just call him Dr. Dorfman, already. Freehold High School senior Robert Dorfman has been invited to Monmouth University's Junior Science Symposium to present his independent research paper,The Effect of Tau Protein on Kidney Fibroblast Cells In the Absence of Fibrillar Beta-Amyloid.

Dorfman was one of 10 high school students in the state invited to present his research, which he completed as part of his coursework at the high school's Medical Sciences Learning Center. The project was designed to help understand a potential mechanism for the progression of Alzheimer's disease, according to a release by the district. Read more

Comment

The Internet Information Age

The internet is a powerful tool that helps people connect and share lives. It is also now the first source for many people to learn about something. But like anywhere else there are good places and bad places. Many people love Freehold Borough, the people who live here and the people who used to live here and the people who heard all about it b ecause they are huge fans of Bruce Springsteen. So they get on the internet to find out all about Freehold Borough.

The good news is that there are many Facebook groups devoted to Freehold such as FreeholdinJersey or NPC. There’s even one for charity called Relay for Life! Here, people use their real names and stand behind any comment they make. And that’s a good thing because you can trust what you read. There are a couple other sites that exist in disguise to bash the town and its leadership. When you read posts or comments from people who hide behind made-up names, can you really trust what they say? You have to read between the lines to see what their hidden agendas are or what kind of political gain they are trying to achieve. I caution everyone to take these sites with a grain of salt.

11 Comments

Taping to start in Freehold for cable talk show

Posted via APP.com:

"Let's Talk with Gary Gellman" later this month will begin production in Freehold for its sixth season of TV shows to be carried over Verizon's FiOS 1 Network.

Gary Gellman interviews Miss NJ Ashely Schaffer on Let's Talk.

Gellman, 42, has interviewed more than 300 celebrities and other guests on the show, according to a news release. The show is seen in over 250,000 cable households in New Jersey several times a week and can also be seen at www.gellmanimages.com. Read more

1 Comment

Rainy weekend on the way

An area of low pressure off the South Carolina coast this morning is expected to intensify and slowly move north towards the New Jersey coast over the next three days.  This low pressure system is expected to produce heavy rainfall, strong winds, and the potential for some coastal flooding along the New Jersey coast and the north shore of Long Island.  As such, the National Weather Service has issued Flash Flood Watches, Wind Advisories, Gale Warnings, and Small Craft Advisories for the Philadelphia and New York City metropolitan area.

The water vapor satellite picture this morning shows a very complicated upper level pattern over the eastern half of North America.  However, the key to understanding this forecast can be found in the Canadian Maritimes.  That area of dry air seen as black over Maine and Quebec, Canada is due to sinking air associated with an upper low over the Canadian Maritimes.  This is a feature of the east based negative NAO and is currently supporting a strong area of high pressure over Quebec and northern New England.  If not for this block over the northern Atlantic, this entire upper level pattern would not be able to produce a heavy rainfall event much less a long duration rainfall event because the various upper level disturbances to the west would simple exit into the Atlantic with little delay.  However, due to the blocking in the Atlantic, several upper level disturbances will be able to interact and intensify along the East coast. Read more

Comment

Significant flooding event expected for this weekend

The storm is starting to organize over the Plains, Gulf Coast, and Southeast.  The model guidance at this point is in very strong agreement for a widespread heavy rainfall starting tomorrow afternoon and continuing on through Sunday morning with rainfall amounts by Monday morning ranging from 2 inches to as much as 5.5 inches of rain.

The storm is currently separated into several different pieces from the Plains to the Southeast coast.  The first piece is over the southern Plains which is a disturbance that will be phasing with the second piece over the northern Plains, which is the strong upper low.  Of course, not to complicate matters even more, a coastal front is forming along the East coast, while a strong Sub Tropical Jet stream is driving moisture from the Pacific right into the Southeast coast.  So, does everyone got that?  Okay, let's move forward! Read more

Comment

Center Partnership Reelects Board Members, Approves Budget

The Freehold Center Partnership, Freehold Borough's special improvement district organization, held their yearly Board of Directors meeting yesterday to elect members, vote on bylaws, and pass their budget.

The Freehold Center Partnership and its special-events division, Downtown Freehold, puts on annual s ummer festivals including concerts in the Hall of Records parking lot, above.

The partnership approved a yearly budget of $305,000, made up mostly of SID-taxes on properties within the district, along with sponsorships and barter-deals. Read more

5 Comments

Peter Cottontail Hops into Town Tomorrow

The Easter Bunny will be visiting the Freehold area beginning tomorrow at the Freehold Raceway Mall.

Photo by Robert Ward

Fans of the furry creature can get their photos taken between 10AM and 9PM everyday through April 3--except Sundays, when the hours are 11AM-9PM.  For info on photo packages, hit freeholdracewaymall.com.

Comment

New Italian Eatery in Old Steakhouse Spot

A new Italian restaurant has opened to the springtime crowds in Freehold, taking up the space where South Street Steakhouse had been before its closure in January.

Nuova Luna hung a banner outside the South Street Steakhouse awnings declaring itself open for business beginning March 2. The restaurant will feature the same chef from Trattoria Portobello, an Italian eatery which used to occupy the same space at 24 South.

A look at the new menu after the jump:

Read more

Comment

Tipsters help crack Freehold Township, Colts Neck burglary cases

Posted via APP.com:

A Freehold Township woman noticed a car in her neighborhood that seemed suspicious, so she called police with a description of the vehicle Tuesday night.

Earlier that night, Colts Neck residents also saw a suspicious vehicle in their neighborhood, so they noted the license plate number of the car.

It was those tips from residents that led to the arrest of a Paterson man, charges in a Colts Neck burglary case, and the discovery of a break-in in Freehold Township -- before the residents even knew their homes had been burglarized, authorities said.

Demar Brown, 26, has been charged in Colts Neck with burglary, theft, and criminal mischief, and in Freehold Township with conspiracy to commit burglary and possession of stolen property. Read more

Comment

Foggy start this morning with increasing flooding potential this weekend

The temperatures may be warmer, but the active storm track that the Philadelphia and New York City metropolitan area experienced in February is returning once again.

The easterly fetch developing at the mid and lower levels of the atmosphere is already influencing the northern Mid Atlantic as Atlantic moisture moves into the coastal plain.  The combination of relatively light winds and high moisture levels has lead to the development of fog throughout the Philadelphia and New York City metropolitan areas and down through the New Jersey coast.  Visibility around 2 standard miles for most locations. Read more

Comment