July 2026

[Stormlover74]

Thundering with storms approaching 

[winterwx21]

9 minutes ago, Stormlover74 said:

Thundering with storms approaching 

Yeah good looking storm about to hit our area. I'm glad we're getting lucky early just in case the stuff later misses us. 

[NEG NAO]

10 minutes ago, Stormlover74 said:

Thundering with storms approaching 

The atmosphere is in the bullpen warming up for this afternoons game

[NEG NAO]

4 minutes ago, winterwx21 said:

Yeah good looking storm about to hit our area. I'm glad we're getting lucky early just in case the stuff later misses us. 

no warnings so far for anything - warm front is approaching - noisy little storm - loud thunder

[winterwx21]

2 minutes ago, NEG NAO said:

no warnings so far for anything - warm front is approaching

Yeah not warned but man I can hear a ton of thunder from this storm that's about to hit northern Middlesex County and Union. I'm excited. 

[Stormlover74]

1 minute ago, winterwx21 said:

Yeah not warned but man I can hear a ton of thunder from this storm that's about to hit northern Middlesex County and Union. I'm excited. 

Yeah not severe but looks nice

[NEG NAO]

5 minutes ago, Stormlover74 said:

Yeah not severe but looks nice

wow - loudest thunder yet this season - sounded like a shotgun blast..........atmosphere is charged up anyone else experience that here in central nj ?

 

[winterwx21]

Pouring. 

[Neblizzard]

3 minutes ago, NEG NAO said:

wow - loudest thunder yet this season - sounded like a shotgun blast..........atmosphere is charged up anyone else experience that here in central nj ?

 

Gotta love warm front storms , sometimes they produce the best. 

[NJwx85]

11 minutes ago, NEG NAO said:

no warnings so far for anything - warm front is approaching - noisy little storm - loud thunder

The Northern part of the line is warned now. 60mph winds and nickle hail.

[winterwx21]

9 minutes ago, NEG NAO said:

wow - loudest thunder yet this season - sounded like a shotgun blast..........atmosphere is charged up anyone else experience that here in central nj ?

 

Yeah I just had an extremely close lightning strike that sounded like a shotgun blast too. Love it! 

[donsutherland1]

Two photos of the smoke that returned. It's nowhere near as thick or at the low level as it was on Thursday.

[NEG NAO]

1 minute ago, winterwx21 said:

Yeah I just had an extremely close lightning strike that sounded like a shotgun blast too. Love it! 

not sure if it is cloud to ground lightning or elevated

[BoulderWX]

Storm blowing up just to my west

[Stormlover74]

Definitely intensifying into a solid line

[MANDA]

Lots of thunder here and sky is dark.  Per radar a drenching is about to take place.

[BoulderWX]

Heavy rain, very loud thunder and lightning. Nice little show going on 

[RockawayRowdies]

Loud booms here in Rockaway 

[MANDA]

Lights flickering.....PLEASE NO.  Not ready for another round of power outages.  Not now and not later today.  Just no.

[jm1220]

Not as bad but still disgusting. AQIs are still around 200. 

[winterwx21]

You have to wonder if this early convection is messing up our chances for later, but I don't care -- that was a very nice storm. I got a quick 0.46" from it. Glad the vegetable garden got a good watering. 

[jm1220]

1 minute ago, winterwx21 said:

You have to wonder if this early convection is messing up our chances for later, but I don't care -- that was a very nice storm. I got a quick 0.46" from it. Glad the vegetable garden got a good watering. 

However we get the rain I’m good with. 

[NJwx85]

Just now, winterwx21 said:

You have to wonder if this early convection is messing up our chances for later, but I don't care -- that was a very nice storm. I got a quick 0.46" from it. Glad the vegetable garden got a good watering. 

This is the warm front which sets the stage for later. Without it there wouldn’t be much of a severe threat later.

[Stormlover74]

2 minutes ago, winterwx21 said:

You have to wonder if this early convection is messing up our chances for later, but I don't care -- that was a very nice storm. I got a quick 0.46" from it. Glad the vegetable garden got a good watering. 

Hrrr doesn't even have this round

[MJO812]

76 and thunderstorms here. Getting very dark.

[winterwx21]

Just now, Stormlover74 said:

Hrrr doesn't even have this round

And the funny thing is, remember how I mentioned that yesterday's 12z HRRR nailed our area today around 10 in the morning. That HRRR run yesterday ended up being correct, but future runs lost it. It's such an inconsistent model, but it's certainly useful at times. 

[Stormlover74]

5 minutes ago, winterwx21 said:

You have to wonder if this early convection is messing up our chances for later, but I don't care -- that was a very nice storm. I got a quick 0.46" from it. Glad the vegetable garden got a good watering. 

I'm wondering about that batch of rain moving in from PA as well

[NEG NAO]

1 minute ago, Stormlover74 said:

Hrrr doesn't even have this round

models are unreliable in these setups = now casting time using radars and this smoke is still hanging in there making the sky look strange

[IrishRob17]

https://www.spc.noaa.gov/products/md/md1645.html
 
Mesoscale Discussion 1645
   NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
   1001 AM CDT Sat Jul 18 2026

   Areas affected...Northern Mid-Atlantic into southern New England

   Concerning...Severe potential...Watch unlikely 

   Valid 181501Z - 181630Z

   Probability of Watch Issuance...20 percent

   SUMMARY...Isolated wind damage is possible with strong to marginally
   severe storms late this morning. A watch is not expected.

   DISCUSSION...A small linear cluster of storms has recently organized
   in northern New Jersey and adjacent northeast Pennsylvania. Storm
   cores have shown modest deepening on 7 km MRMS CAPPI over the last
   30 minutes. The observed OKX sounding had poor mid-level lapse rates
   (5.3 C/km) but 45 kt of effective shear. Downstream of this current
   activity, cloud cover and smoke have hindered surface heating.
   Low-level lapse rates are not expected to be overly steep. While
   isolated wind damage is possible late this morning, the severe
   threat should remain marginal on account of very limited buoyancy. A
   watch is not expected.

   ..Wendt/Thompson.. 07/18/2026

[MJO812]

Torrential downpours here with loud thunder and frequent lightning.