Potentially record heat coming to the Jersey Shore

Russ Zimmer | Asbury Park Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Heat wave help: 5 ways to survive blistering temps Heat waves are no joke. Keep safe and healthy with these tips.

Summer is fun, but be careful in the heat. The video above has 5 tips on how to stay safe.

A heavy blanket of heat has enveloped New Jersey, effectively ending this year's sometimes brisk, always rainy spring.

High temperatures today and Tuesday are expected to approach record highs, according to the National Weather Service.

The highs on Sunday exceeded 90 degrees, meaning that parts of New Jersey could be headed toward three straight 90-plus days — the definition of a heat wave.

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State climatologist David Robinson said this spike in temperature is temporary, but Mother Nature's message is clear: Spring is over.

In the video at the top of the story, you can see how many people wind up in emergency rooms when temperatures soar.

"(The NWS doesn't) expect any long term period of heat, nor is there an expectation that we're going to return to the past month's cool, rainy days," Robinson told the Asbury Park Press this morning. "We’re going to settle into more of a summer pattern."

An air quality alert is in effect for New Jersey today, a combination of the hot temperature and humidity.

High levels of smog put certain populations at risk, including the very young and very old, as well as those with respiratory conditions, such as asthma.

The official first day of summer — the summer solstice — is June 21.

How hot has it got?

According to the NWS and NJClimate.org, here are the record high temperatures logged in selected towns on June 12 and June 13. The year of the record is in parentheses.

Marlboro: 95 (1984); 92 (2015)

Ocean Township: 97 (1984); 95 (1961)

Toms River: 97 (1984); 94 (1983)

Tuckerton: 94 (1914); 94 (1988)

Atlantic City: 93 (1984); 96 (1964)

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Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com