New Jersey can’t catch a break as smoke, dangerous heat and storms collide again

☀️Canadian wildfire smoke will keep skies hazy and air quality unhealthy

☀️Thursday's storms brought 84 mph winds, flash flooding to parts of Ocean County.

☀️More thunderstorms with damaging winds and flooding are possible on Saturday

STAFFORD — New Jersey is in for at least two more days of smoke, heat and thunderstorms.

On Thursday afternoon, while the state sat in a smoky haze caused by massive wildfires in Canada, the southern end of Ocean County was rocked by a strong thunderstorm that brought strong winds, heavy rain and a tornado warning. Many trees and wires came down but no significant power outages were reported.

An 84 mph wind gust was recorded in Surf City and half-dollar-sized hail fell in Warren Grove.

Flash floods quickly filled Route 72 with water, temporarily trapping some vehicles.

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Radar image of strong thunderstorm over southern Ocean County Thursday, July 17, 202

The smoke from 876 active Canadian wildfires will continue to bring a haze and poor air quality to New Jersey on Friday. 

The haze could increase again on Saturday, when rain is expected, according to New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow.

"While that rain could finally help scrub some of the haze out of the atmosphere, a few storms may be on the strong side with damaging wind gusts, torrential downpours, and localized flooding, so it's worth keeping an eye on the forecast if you have outdoor plans," Zarrow said.

NJ Forest Fire Service Chief Greg McLaughlin told Eric Scott for "Jersey Thing" that it's "crazy" that the smoke over New Jersey is coming from 900 miles away from not only Canada but Minnesota. The Forest Fire Service has sent support teams to Minnesota, Colorado and Idaho.

Fueling the fires in Canada are layers of soil,leaves and sticks call duff. It could be up to three feet thick, according to McLaughlin. By comparison, duff is only six to eight inches, maybe a foot in the Pinelands.

"Especially up there in Canada where they have these really rich environments.That fire can burn downward into that duff very slowly searching for air pockets to burn. And when it's doing that, it's smoking terribly. And that's what's contributing to a lot of the smoke," McLaughlin said.

Map displays Air Quality Index number for New Jersey Fri, July 17, 2026

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