December 2023 Weather in Toms River, NJ

Temperature

December 2023 was wet and warm in the Bellcrest section of Toms River, NJ.  Like most months, there was some variation with respect to temperature during the month, but the warm periods of December 2023 dwarfed the cooler periods. All of the cooler periods of the month lasted a day or two, while each warm period lasted nearly a week. The last warm period of the month, from just before Christmas to the end of the year, averaged between 10 and 15 degrees above normal.

Despite the persistent warmth, no daily record high temperatures were established during the month.  Surprisingly, no record high minimum temperatures (sometimes referred to as a “maxi-min”) were established (though the low temperature on the 19^th came with one degree of tying the record for that date).  However, even without any daily record warm temperatures, December 2023 was the 6^th warmest December on record for the Bellcrest section of Toms River (where temperature records extend back to 1978, totaling 38 Decembers).

Because of the warmth, there was no white Christmas on the Jersey Shore, as that day has above normal temperatures and no rainfall. 

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Rainfall

Rainfall measurements at this location are automated (taken with a tipping bucket rain gauge), and largely left intact, unless it is clear from surrounding weather stations that the reported rainfall is not representative for our location. There is not an observer to measure snow at our station, but we do estimate the liquid equivalent for the event based on surrounding observations, and this is included in the daily rainfall.

That being stated, rainfall for December 2023 was much above normal in Toms River, NJ.  In fact, December 2023 was the 5^th wettest December on record (with rainfall records dating back to 1989). Three days during the month saw rainfall amounts top an inch, and two daily record records were established (2.19 inches on the 10^th and 1.56 inches on the 18^th). The nearly back-to-back rainfall events led to considerable flooding in other portions of the state, but no large scale flooding was reported in the Bellcrest section of Toms River, NJ. In total, 7.07 inches of rainfall was logged, which is nearly double the normal for December.

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Thunderstorms

Our Tempest Weather Station has a lightning detector, but no lightning activity was observed within five miles of the station during the month. Thunderstorms are rare in December, but not unheard of. Typically, thunderstorms in December are observed when warm and moist air is drawn northward into the Northeast US ahead of a cold front, producing a line of storms that can containing lightning. Thunderstorms can also occur in December during winter storms.

Figure 3 shows a diagram of a winter storm nearing peak intensity. Ahead of the storm (denoted as an L), moisture is drawn northward then northwestward to the north of the storm. When this occurs, the heaviest precipitation (often in the form of snow) stretches in a band just to the northwest of the storm itself. Occasionally the air drawn into the low has sufficient instability to allow thunderstorms to form. Because of the strong winds in the mid levels of the atmosphere, the storms (if they could be seen by observers) would appear to be tilted. This is a fairly rare event for the Jersey Shore (happening about once a decade), but occurs more often over New England and near the Great Lakes.