NJ Climatology

The Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist: Our Mission ..

The Office of the New Jersey State Climatologist (ONJSC) serves as the focal point for activities pertaining to the climate of New Jersey. Dr. David A. Robinson, New Jersey State Climatologist and CEP member, directs the ONJSC, which resides within CEP. The responsibilities of the ONJSC are the following:

1. To collect and archive data on climate conditions in New Jersey

The ONJSC gathers recent hourly and daily observations for a number of climate variables (e.g., temperature, precipitation, and snow) from official U.S. government and private observing stations throughout New Jersey. This information is collected in real time, or on weekly or monthly time frames, in cooperation with the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) , the National Weather Service (NWS) , the Northeast Regional Climate Center , and state government and private organizations. Data are stored in hardcopy and digital formats.

Responsibility for archiving this recent climate data, as well as historic data from the past 100 years, following inspection for data accuracy and consistency, also rests with the ONJSC. In addition to the standard collected climate variables, derived products such as means, totals, and heating degree days for individual stations, climate regions, and New Jersey as a whole are computed and included.

The ONJSC also cooperates with climate observers, the NCDC, and the NWS to assure that station continuity and coverage is maintained throughout New Jersey. This includes participating in the expansion of existing networks to provide improved coverage in space and time.

2. To conduct and foster research concerning the climate of New Jersey

The ONJSC is active in basic and applied research in areas related to NJ climate. Examples include the development of a thunderstorm climatology for the state, investigating New Jersey's past and potential future climate change, and assessing the impact of climate on specific activities such as agriculture or tourism. Rutgers graduate and undergraduate students play active roles in this research.

In addition, the ONJSC provides information, expertise, and coordination to others in the Rutgers community and beyond who conduct research touching on any aspect of NJ climate.

3. To educate and inform the citizens of New Jersey on matters related to climate

The ONJSC promotes climate awareness by educating the public through publications, correspondence, personal contact, attendance at conferences, lectures to schools and other organizations, and interviews with the print, radio, and TV media. It makes available to the public recent and historic climate data and derived products in hardcopy and digital formats. It also provides information and analysis of ongoing climate events: for example, seasonal climate outlooks or historic perspective on events such as a nor'easter, cold snap, or drought. While the ONJSC does not provide day-to-day weather forecasts, National Weather Service forecasts and the New Jersey agricultural forecast are available through this home page.

To learn more, please visit the ONJSC web site at
http://climate.rutgers.edu/stateclim