Get ready for another steamy day across the Garden State, with intense heat and scattered storms in the afternoon.
Think it felt hot outside on Wednesday? It could be even hotter in many areas of New Jersey on Thursday before scattered storms soak the state.
A steamy air mass remains planted over our region, which will push the mercury up to the 90s throughout the Garden State. The summer heat paired with the humidity levels will make it feel like it's 100 degrees or higher at points during the day.
An excessive heat warning remains in effect for the suburban Philadelphia region of New Jersey -- Camden, Gloucester and Mercer counties, as well as northwestern Burlington County -- all day Thursday and through 6 p.m. Friday.
Daytime temperatures in those counties are expected to soar into the mid-90s on Thursday and Friday, and the high humidity will make it feel dangerously hot, around 100 to 102 degrees, the National Weather Service said. Even at night, there won't be much relief, with temperatures dropping no lower than the mid-70s.
For city commuters, The Big Apple is still under a heat advisory, which isn't expect to expire until 7 p.m. Friday.
Throughout the rest of the state, temperatures will top out in the lower 90s, as sunny skies give way to strong scattered storms in the early afternoon.
The likely showers and thunderstorms in North Jersey have triggered a flash flood watch for most of Morris, Somerset, Middlesex, Monmouth, Essex, Bergen, Passaic and Union counties. The watch is in effect from noon through 6 p.m. The afternoon thunderstorms could produce up to 2 inches of rain in a short period of time, the NWS said.
Storms are also expected throughout the rest of state before 3 p.m. Heavy rain is possible. The rain should cool off the state a bit, with temperatures dropping down into the 80s, according to forecasts.
And for the second straight day, ground ozone levels will be high, prompting the state Department of Environmental Protection to issue another code orange air quality alert for each of New Jersey's 21 counties. The alert is effective all day Thursday and continues through 6 p.m. Friday, but for Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic and Union counties, the alert is active from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Thursday.
The bad air quality could cause breathing problems for children, elderly people and anyone suffering from asthma, heart disease and other lung ailments, officials said.
The threat of thunderstorms will linger overnight. Temperatures will drop into the lower 70s in most of New Jersey.
Friday's forecast calls for a hot, sunny day to close out the week, with highs in the 90s again. Scattered storms may develop in parts of the state during the day again. At night, rain is likely. Lows will be around 72 degrees.
Hottest places on Wednesday
On Wednesday, the hottest location in New Jersey was Hawthorne in Passaic County, where the mercury hit 96 degrees. Not far behind were Cream Ridge in Monmouth, Hamilton in Mercer, Newark in Essex, and Mansfield and Oswego Lake in Burlington, all of which hit 95 degrees.
At one point during the day, Toms River had a temperature of 92 degrees, but the humidity of 53 percent made it feel like 100 degrees. New Brunswick's temperature hit 94, but the "real-feel" temperature -- known as the heat index -- also was a steamy 100 degrees.
For more information on ground-level ozone and fine particles in the air, check www.airnow.gov. Tips on how to avoid heat-related strokes and other heat-induced ailments can be found on this page of the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management: www.ready.gov/heat.
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Craig McCarthy may be reached at CMcCarthy@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @createcraig. Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality. Find NJ.com on Facebook.