New Jersey Weather: Beryl’s Remnants Will Trigger Thunderstorms Across the State. Latest Forecast.

The remnants of deadly Hurricane Beryl continued northward Tuesday and are expected to remain west of New Jersey, but the system could combine with a cold front over the state Wednesday to bring severe thunderstorms with the potential for flash flooding and high winds, forecasters said.

The National Weather Service says the greatest threat of thunderstorms will be in northwestern New Jersey counties, with rainfall amounts of 2 to 2.5 inches possible.

“There is up to a 70 percent chance of thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday as the remnant low from Beryl tracks northwest across our region,” the New Jersey Weather Service office said Tuesday morning. “Thunderstorms during this time period could produce heavy rain leading to flash flooding. The highest risk is along and north of the Interstate 78 corridor.”

AccuWeather forecasts warn of the extended reach of the remnants of Beryl, now a tropical depression, beyond the path of the eye that appears to be headed toward the Great Lakes region.

“A large area of ​​high pressure off the East Coast will act as a giant pump, first creating a midweek heat wave and then helping to draw moisture up the Atlantic coast into the Appalachians midweek through Friday and possibly Saturday,” said AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham. “There’s a tremendous amount of moisture in the air, and it’s likely to be released in the form of torrential rains that can alleviate drought on one hand and cause flash flooding on the other.”

The storm threat intensifies Wednesday afternoon, with even more dangerously hot and humid conditions Tuesday in New Jersey, with highs in the 90s and heat indices exceeding 100 degrees.

A heat advisory is in effect for all New Jersey counties except Cape May until 8 p.m. Wednesday.

Temperatures will also remain uncomfortable at night.

“Tuesday night will again be marked by excessive humidity,” the weather service announced. “Minimum temperatures are expected to drop to 21 to 25 degrees.”

The heat wave continues Wednesday ahead of afternoon thunderstorms.

“Hot and very humid conditions will bring peak heat indices reaching or exceeding 100 degrees across much of our region on Wednesday,” the weather service said.

Even more adverse weather conditions are forecast for the weekend, with a risk of more widespread thunderstorms on Friday night and Saturday, as well as a risk of flash flooding.

“A further period of thunderstorms is possible on Friday and will continue on Saturday,” the weather service said. “The probability of thunderstorms during this period is 70%. The main risk during this period is also heavy rain leading to flash flooding.”

Southern New Jersey counties are expected to be hardest hit by the storms, the weather service said.

Saturday will be slightly cooler, but temperatures will return to around 90 degrees on Sunday with heat indices again above 100 degrees.

Beryl Damage Update

Power has begun to return to some of the millions of homes and businesses left in the dark when Hurricane Beryl struck the Houston area, as the weakened storm moved eastward, spawning suspected tornadoes and causing more damage.

Beryl was accused of killing several people in Texas on Monday and at least one person in Louisiana, authorities said.

After a peak Monday with more than 2.7 million customers without power around Houston, the numbers improved to more than 2.3 million homes and businesses without power Tuesday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. Lack of air conditioning in homes, downed power lines and non-functioning traffic lights have led officials to ask residents to stay home if possible.

Later Monday, Beryl weakened to a tropical depression, and by Tuesday morning the weather service said it was about 95 miles north of Shreveport, Louisiana, moving northeast with maximum sustained winds near 30 mph. Its strength is not expected to change much in the coming days.

Although weakened, Beryl threatens to bring more severe weather to several other states in the coming days. The storm is expected to bring heavy rain and possible flash flooding from the lower and middle Mississippi Valley to the Great Lakes Tuesday through Wednesday, the weather service said.

Local and state officials in Texas warned it could take several days to fully restore power after Beryl slammed ashore as a Category 1 hurricane, knocking down 10 transmission lines and downing trees that brought down power lines.

Beryl, the first Category 5 hurricane to develop in the Atlantic, killed at least 11 people as it moved through the Caribbean before heading toward Texas. In Jamaica, officials said Monday that islanders will face food shortages after Beryl destroyed more than $6.4 million worth of crops and supporting infrastructure.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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