One of the great advantages of surfing in the middle Atlantic states has always been our temperate water temperatures. If you check the NODC water temp averages, you will notice that the water in New Jersey in summer is usually much warmer than the Pacific in SoCal in the summer, because of the Gulf Stream.
The Gulf Stream is a major player in eastern seaboard climate and fishing, and it is running fairly normal water temperatures for this time of the year. However the in shore waters of southern New Jersey are still bouncing around in the high 50's low 60's because of a phenomenon called 'upwelling'. We have had persistent southwesterly winds since late spring. These persistent southwesterlies serve to push the warmer surface water away from the shore line, and this causes the much colder water come to the surface. This is called upwelling, and while it is not an unusual condition, it seems to have lasted a far longer than usual period of time this summer.
Right now, the water in southern NJ should be in the 70's, not low 60's. Temperatures further out to sea or normal, and a change in winds will bring the warm waters right back into the beach. Unfortunately, I haven't heard any of the meteorologists say that the trend in wind direction is coming any day soon.
http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/......
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