Air Quality Alert Issued For Middlesex County This Weekend

MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ — The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has issued a code orange air quality alert Friday, Saturday and Sunday in Middlesex County. A code orange air quality alert means that air pollution concentrations within the region may become unhealthy for sensitive groups.

Sensitive groups include children, people suffering from asthma, heart disease or other lung diseases, and the elderly. The effects of air pollution can be minimized by avoiding strenuous activity or exercise outdoors.

“Little relief from elevated ozone levels is expected on Sunday due to breezy southwesterly winds, high temperatures in the upper-90s, and partly sunny skies ahead of an approaching cold front. As a result, ozone levels will again linger in the Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (USG) statewide with the exception of coastal southern New Jersey,” the NJDEP said.

The air quality alert comes as New Jersey grapples with a heatwave.

“Showers and thunderstorms are expected Monday as a cold front pushes through the region, providing some relief from hot temperatures and elevated ozone levels,” the NJDEP said.

Here’s the latest forecast for Middlesex County, according to the National Weather Service:

• Friday night: Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 67. Southeast wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 60 percent. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch, except higher amounts possible in thunderstorms.
• Saturday: A 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 86. South wind 3 to 7 mph. A 40 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 69. South wind around 6 mph.
• Sunday: A slight chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 p.m. Partly sunny, with a high near 88. South wind 8 to 14 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50 percent. A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 8 p.m., then showers likely and possibly a thunderstorm between 8 p.m. and 2 a.m., then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after 2 a.m. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 70. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New rainfall amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.

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