Moderate to Heavy Rains Expected Today along with the opener of the Perseid Meteor Showers

Mornin'!  It's 70° in Wildwood.  The rain is pouring down at a nice clip.  My street has quite a bit of water at the curb indicating it's been raining during the overnight while we slept.  It's supposed to be raining steady throughout much of the day (100% chance) with some thunderstorms in the mix as some may be severe.  Strap in as we're due to have some intense, heavy, wet weather today.  There's a brief break late morning before the next round comes over the island and we may see peeks of sun but don't be fooled. And, the new moon is Friday and I'm not sure how much of an effect it will have on the tides and flooding with all the rain expected.  Just be careful out there and take heed on any water you intend to drive through...never a good idea.  Temps will tap 80° with winds out of the S-SW at 15-25mph.  Tonight...scattered thunderstorms during the evening (60% chance) and again..some may be severe. Winds will be out of the West at 5-10mph.  After tonight...we're in the clear with sunny beach weather up ahead at least until Monday!  It should be worth one solid crapola day unless this was your one planned day trip down the Shore.

FOOTNOTE: It's 1:30p.m. and the sun's been trying to come out for about an hour.  It looks like things are clearing up. The local doppler has no rain in sight for now. There's a system over the Harrisburg area which may filter over us later this early evening but the local weather forecasts are saying probably clear later tonight.  So, with that said... get ready for the annual mid-August tradition known as The Perseids, one of the best meteor showers the Earth enjoys each year.  The show peaks this week, as the nights from August 11th through the 14th will offer the best chances to see the bright meteors streaking across the South Jersey sky.

Last year's show was not as brilliant as usual, as The Perseids coincided with the "super" full moon. The especially bright light of the full moon created plenty of natural light pollution, making the normally easy to spot Perseid meteors more difficult to see. This year, we'll have a new moon just as the peak of the Perseids pass.  So as long as you're away from any man-made light pollution(cities and street lights), conditions should be perfect, presuming skies are clear. And they will be, eventually.  So in South Jersey, the best Perseids viewing will be later tonight, as well as Wednesday and Thursday night. Up to 100 meteors per hour can be seen during these meteor showers and 2-5a.m. being the best viewing hours.

High tide:6:46a.m. and 7:00p.m.
Low tide:12:54p.m.
Ocean temp:74°
Sunset:8:01p.m.
Rip Currents: Moderate