🌴FRIDAY’S FORECAST | Heat, humidity and storms (not a washout, keep your plans). Thank the Bermuda high for that! I got your Jersey Shore forecast.
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♨️THURSDAY’S FORECAST | Woah. It is muuuugggggyy out there. That’s why a heat alert is out for parts of the Jersey Shore through Saturday! Stay cool, stay in the water and watch for the spotty lightning storms.
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WEDNESDAY’S FORECAST | Humid. Muggy. Swampy. Sticky! Call it whatever you want but this will be our most humid stretch of 2026 so far. With the humidity comes the storms but it won’t be a washout.
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Oceanside, California, is taking an international approach to a problem Jersey Shore communities know all too well: disappearing beaches.
During a recent episode of Tidal Flooding Talk, Oceanside Coastal Program Manager Jayme Timberlake explained how the city’s proposed ReBeach project could rebuild its shoreline while offering a new model for coastal resilience.
Oceanside’s erosion problems date back decades. The construction of a federal boat basin and a small-craft harbor during the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s changed the natural movement of sand along the city’s coastline. The result has been an ongoing cycle of healthy beaches followed by dramatic sand loss.
Today, some locations have little more than wet sand and cobble, with usable beach available only at low tide.
“The sand leaves our shoreline really fast,” Timberlake said.
Past beach-nourishment projects brought new sand to Oceanside, but much of it disappeared within several years. Instead of simply repeating that process, city leaders began searching for a way to keep more sand in place.
That search became ReBeach.
Oceanside launched an international design competition that attracted more than 30 companies. Teams eventually joined forces, producing three finalists from New York, the Netherlands and Australia.
The winning concept combines traditional sand nourishment with artificial reefs and headlands. The underwater and shoreline features are intended to slow sand loss, restore wider beaches and create a protective buffer between the Pacific Ocean and nearby development.
The project could also improve surfing. Oceanside is home to major competitions and world-title-winning surfer Caitlin Simmers, but erosion has removed some of the offshore sandbars that help waves break. ReBeach is expected to add enough sand to help those features return.
For residents, the loss is about more than recreation. Timberlake said some people left Oceanside for college or military service and returned to find the beaches they remembered had nearly vanished. That rapid change has helped generate strong public support, including the creation of Save Oceanside Sand, a nonprofit advocacy group with roughly 1,200 paying members.
Getting ReBeach built will require another major lift. The project is expected to cost approximately $60 million. Oceanside has used its general fund and federal American Rescue Plan Act money to advance the design and permitting process, but construction funding has not yet been secured.
The city is exploring several possibilities, including state grants, local sales-tax revenue and a potential federal earmark through NOAA.
Although ReBeach would be new to California, its Australian design team has used similar artificial-reef strategies elsewhere. If the Oceanside project succeeds, it could provide a blueprint for other developed coastal communities searching for ways to hold onto their sand—and their identity.
Lots fun, hopefully lots of good weather and my chance to connect with YOU!
“Go with Joe” is looking for fresh ideas for a 2027 or 2028 travel itinerary and we want your help! Thanks to Travel With Donna (www.travelwithdonna.vip) and your input, we’ll put on an unforgettable experience for you, your friends and your family! Let us know where and how you wanna go! Joe and Donna will take care of the rest.
TUESDAY’S FORECAST | Our weather took a page out of Macy’s, it’s a One Day Sale… of lower humidity! Lol.
I got your full Jersey Shore weather here.
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Flooding swept through the Raritan Bayshore (Monmouth County) quickly this morning. Keep in mind Cumberland County had flooding issues, too. 3″+ of rain in spots!
Where do we go from here? Sun, then… more storms.
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July 2026 did not ease quietly into the history books. Instead, it arrived with record heat, booming thunderstorms, flash flooding, tornadoes, wildfire smoke and an ongoing drought. At the Jersey Shore, residents went from searching for shade to watching streets fill with water, sometimes within the same week.
The month’s opening act was a major heat wave around the Fourth of July. Atlantic City International Airport soared to 106 degrees on July 4, tying its all-time record high. The heat even charged straight toward the beaches, where the ocean usually provides at least some relief.
Sea Girt reached 101 degrees on both July 3 and 4. Atlantic City also hit 100 degrees on both days. The usual cooling sea breeze was nearly absent, leaving beachgoers, parade crowds and holiday workers exposed to dangerous conditions.
The nights offered little relief. Newark Airport remained at 87 degrees early on July 3 before thunderstorms lowered the temperature later in the day. Without those storms, New Jersey may have set a statewide record for its warmest overnight low. State officials connected 29 deaths to the heat wave, showing that hot nights can be just as serious as triple-digit afternoons.
Then the atmosphere changed gears.
New Jersey experienced five separate rounds of severe weather during July. At least part of the state was placed under a severe-weather risk on 13 days, compared with a July average of about eight.
Four tornadoes were confirmed, including several in Morris County and a waterspout that crossed Delaware Bay before reaching Cape May Point. Tornadoes are rare in Cape May County, where cooler ocean air often acts as a lid on powerful thunderstorms.
Heavy rain created some of the month’s biggest problems along the Shore. Neptune received 6.6 inches of rain on July 6, including more than two inches in only 30 minutes. Roads closed, water rescues were needed and flooding affected several Monmouth County communities, including Highlands.
On July 16, another group of slow-moving storms unloaded over central Long Beach Island and nearby Stafford Township. The rain was extremely localized, leaving some parts of LBI soaked while other areas received very little.
All that rain did help New Jersey’s drought. Northern sections of the state received more than seven inches during the month, while the coast generally collected between 5.5 and 6 inches. However, severe or extreme drought conditions continued around Atlantic City, Galloway and lower Cape May County.
Canadian wildfire smoke also drifted into New Jersey, producing unhealthy air quality during the middle of the month. Conditions were not as dramatic as the orange skies of 2023, but the haze was a reminder that fires hundreds of miles away can still affect a Jersey Shore summer.
Despite the record heat early in July, cooler weather late in the month balanced the numbers. The statewide average temperature finished only about one degree above normal.
Still, July felt anything but normal. It was a month when the Shore’s weather repeatedly flipped the script, from scorching beaches to flooded streets and smoky skies.
🎉SATURDAY’S FORECAST | July. Is. Over. Woof, what a busy month. How are the first days of August looking? Mostly dry for the weekend but memorable heavy rain is possible after.
Come visit Headley Family Farm at 120 Province Road in West Creek! It’s where farming the pines meets the Jersey Shore. Get your Jersey Fresh produce here. Open weekends and some weekdays. Call us at 609-848-3763 or follow us on Facebook, too!
A little clammy humidity is the only downside to this otherwise great Highlands Clam Fest Forecast! https://www.highlandsnj.com/Special_Events/ClamFest/Clamfest.shtml
Highlands is a ShorelySafe client of Cup A Joe Weather and Drone. We provide shore-smart tidal flooding and weather intelligence to reduce flood insurance rates, provide life saving information and be a resource. Have your town join. Go to www.shorelysave.live/shorely-safe.