Temperatures soared into the 90s on Thursday, and thousands of people headed to the beaches, where they enjoyed a cooling sea breeze before the storms.
“It’s a perfect beach day. It’s a way to escape the heat. Beautiful beach breeze,” said Sabrina Blackburn, who was visiting Belmar from the Upper East Side.
Fog and rain were replaced by deep blue skies and a southeast onshore wind. Beaches and boardwalks in Belmar were packed. The boardwalk was hot enough to burn your feet, but the ocean was chilly enough for some sweet relief.
“Just enjoying the weather, going into the ocean, spending time with my friends,” said Andrew Mongelli, of Manalapan.
Harry Harsin, Belmar’s head of beach safety and lifeguards, says Thursday's crowds surpassed those from Memorial Day weekend.
“Yeah, for sure. We’ve had some horrible weather to start off the season. It’s been 50 degrees. Cold, rainy, foggy, and today it’s sunny and 90 we welcome this weather for sure,” he said.
Business owners at the beach say it’s been a difficult spring but when the weather breaks, the crowds have responded and they’re looking forward to a rare rain-free weekend.
“Incredible, incredible, you couldn’t ask for a better weekend. I hope that we are not Seattle New Jersey anymore. We are the Jersey Shore with all the sun,” said Lorene Zalick, owner of Coney Waffle.
The threat of severe weather kept the lifeguards busy Thursday, giving way to perhaps the first rain-free weekend in weeks and a hot official start to summer.
“We’re off to a slow start but today I think is the beginning of a beautiful summer,” said Harsin.
Stormy weather was expected to move out of the area by around 10 p.m. Thursday.
