The New Jersey Sea Breeze
and its Relationship to Coastal Upwelling
A research project by Rutgers University's Coastal Ocean Observation
Lab
and the Mount Holly, NJ National Weather Service Forecast Office
Background
The sea breeze is a well-known phenomenon which affects coastal areas
primarily during the warm season. It is driven by the temperature
difference between land and sea, which typically peaks during the afternoon
hours with maximum diurnal heating of the land. Effects of the sea
breeze include local changes in temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction,
cloud cover, and sometimes precipitation. These changes can be significant
for operational forecasting of weather conditions for the public, as well
as for more specialized users in the aviatrion and marine communities.
During the Spring and Summer months, the leading edge of the sea breeze
is often observed by the National Weather Service's WSR-88D operational
radar at Ft. Dix, NJ (KDIX) as a fine line of reflectivity. Typically,
this line forms near the shore in early afternoon and progresses some distance
inland during the rest of the day. The shape and movement of this sea breeze
"front" can vary considerably from day to day, depending mainly on the degree
of heating and on the synoptic scale wind patterns.
One less recognized factor which may be important in the daily evolution
of the sea breeze is the distribution of sea surface temperature along and
near the shore. During prolonged periods of southwesterly synoptic-scale
flow, it is common to observe the "upwelling" of colder water from below the
ocean surface. This upwelling can produce near-shore pockets of water
that are 5 to 10 deg C (or more) colder than the surrounding ocean. Observational
evidence, e.g., radar imagery, suggests that land areads of southwesterly
synoptic-scale flow, it is common to observe the "upwelling" of colder water
from below the ocean surface. This upwelling can produce nes adjacent
to these cold pockets are favored for the initial development of the sea
breeze, and this subsequently affects the movement and orientation of the
sea breeze front.