Preakness, New Jersey Weather
Cicadas claim the afternoon. Day 14 of summer. Read this microseason across nine climate regions →
Preakness weather forecast — hour by hour, 7-day outlook, NOAA radar
- TodayJul 4Overcast34%—96°74°—
- SundayJul 5Heavy Rain52%5.9″86°71°-10°
- MondayJul 6Heavy Drizzle93%0.06″75°69°-11°
- TuesdayJul 7Heavy Drizzle86%0.08″69°62°-6°
- WednesdayJul 8Overcast24%—82°62°+13°
- ThursdayJul 9Overcast10%—91°70°+9°
- FridayJul 10Light Drizzle50%—87°71°-4°
AQI 99 (Moderate), driven by Ozone. AQI up 47 in the last 6 hours — air quality is degrading. Ozone at AQI 76 — peak already passed at 1 PM under clear skies. Levels should ease through evening.
OK No precautions needed for the general population; unusually sensitive individuals may consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.
What's driving it
Ozone × UV × Sky
Ozone at AQI 76 — peak already passed at 1 PM under clear skies. Levels should ease through evening.
- Present
- AQI 76
- UV peak
- 0.6 at earlier today
- Sky at peak
- clear
- Projected peak
- AQI 76
PM × Wind × Precip
PM2.5 at 5.9 µg/m³, PM10 at 6.2 µg/m³ — typical background levels with no transport signature.
- PM2.5/PM10
- 0.95
- Wind
- light
- Recent rain
- 0h in last 6h
- Pattern
- background
Trends
Seven days of AQI and PM2.5.
Hourly air-quality data from the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service, charted across the past and next several days. Dashed lines mark the AQI breakpoints at 50 (Good → Moderate) and 100 (Moderate → Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups).








































If the first of July be rainy weather, 'twill rain more or less for four weeks together.
- Moonrise
- 10:52 PM
- Moonset
- 9:59 AM
- In sign
- ♓︎ Pisces
Cicadas claim the afternoon
Preakness at a glance
- Today vs. normal: 24°F above the seasonal normal for this latitude
- Last frost: April 22 (climatological average for this latitude)
- Microseason: Jul 1–5
- Planting window: Harvest early potatoes. Begin drying onions on the surface.
16-Day Forecast — Preakness
- Sat96°74°34%
- Sun86°71°52%
- Mon75°69°93%
- Tue69°62°86%
- Wed82°62°24%
- Thu91°70°10%
- Fri87°71°50%
- Sat86°75°31%
- Sun86°70°28%
- Mon78°67°25%
- Tue84°68°19%
- Wed89°66°28%
- Thu92°70°41%
- Fri94°72°45%
- Sat93°72°34%
- Sun91°76°39%
Forecast data from Open-Meteo (CC BY 4.0).
Right now in the garden
Peak growing season
As of July 4, the growing season is at its peak — frost is months away. Continue succession-planting beans and summer squash. Start fall brassicas (broccoli, cabbage, kale) from seed indoors for transplanting in late summer.
SPC Convective Outlook
Storm Prediction Center — Preakness
SPC has placed Preakness in the Slight Risk category for severe thunderstorms today.
- TODAYSLGTSlight Risk
- TOMORROWMRGLMarginal Risk
- DAY 3TSTMGeneral Thunderstorms
Scattered severe storms possible. A few tornadoes, hail, and damaging wind gusts possible.
Source: NOAA / NWS Storm Prediction Center categorical convective outlook. Outlooks are re-issued multiple times per day; this page reflects the most recent SPC polygons covering the city’s coordinates.
Microseason · July 1–5
Cicadas claim the afternoon
Annual cicada buzz begins, peaking in the heat of the day.
Day 185 of 365 · Wedge 37 of 72
Planting calendar
| Month | Plant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|
| January | — | — |
| February | — | — |
| March | — | — |
| April | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes | — |
| May | lettuce, peas, spinach, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, radishes |
| June | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | lettuce, peas, radishes |
| July | tomatoes, peppers, beans, squash | tomatoes, beans, summer squash |
| August | — | tomatoes, beans, summer squash |
| September | fall brassicas, garlic (overwinter), carrots | tomatoes, beans, summer squash |
| October | fall brassicas, garlic (overwinter), carrots | winter squash, tomatoes (last) |
| November | — | — |
| December | — | — |
A year in weather
In Preakness, July runs warmest near 75°F and January coldest around 28°F, while December is the wettest month (4.3 inches) and February the driest (3.0 inches).
| Month | Mean temp | Precip | Rainy days |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 28° | 3.6″ | 14 |
| February | 30° | 3.0″ | 13 |
| March | 38° | 3.7″ | 16 |
| April | 50° | 4.2″ | 17 |
| May | 59° | 4.2″ | 18 |
| June | 68° | 4.3″ | 17 |
| July | 75° | 4.0″ | 17 |
| August | 74° | 4.3″ | 17 |
| September | 67° | 3.9″ | 14 |
| October | 56° | 3.5″ | 12 |
| November | 43° | 4.1″ | 13 |
| December | 33° | 4.3″ | 14 |
Regional context
Per NOAA NCEI 1991-2020 normals, Preakness runs from a 28°F January mean to 75°F in July, a 47°F seasonal spread, with near 47 inches of precipitation across about 183 wet days.
No season owns Preakness's rain: December reaches 4.3 inches across 13.6 days and February keeps 3.0 inches on 13.3, an even spread through Preakness's year. That lines Preakness up with places like William Paterson University of New Jersey, NJ, Packanack Lake, NJ and Haledon, NJ, fed by overlapping storm tracks.
Preakness reaches its last hard frost near mid-April; that is the cue for kale, peas, spinach, and parsnips. Tomatoes and peppers do best set out two weeks later in Preakness, once nights clear the mid-40s°F. The season ends by mid-November in Preakness, once hard frosts set back in. A creek-bottom lot in Preakness can lag Preakness's last frost 7-10 days behind a south slope.
Similar climates: William Paterson University of New Jersey, NJ, Packanack Lake, NJ, Haledon, NJ, Totowa, NJ, Prospect Park, NJ.
Frequently asked
- When does it freeze in Preakness?
- Preakness's last spring frost lands near mid-April, and in Preakness the first fall frost follows around mid-November.
- What is the rainy season in Preakness?
- Rainfall in Preakness peaks in December near 4.3 inches, out of about 47 inches annually.
- What is the warmest month in Preakness?
- The warmest stretch in Preakness comes in July, around 75°F on average.
- What is the coldest month in Preakness?
- On average January is the chilliest month in Preakness, about 28°F.
- When can I start a vegetable garden in Preakness?
- Preakness's last frost (mid-April) cues hardy greens; in Preakness, hold heat-lovers two weeks past.
- How many rainy days does Preakness get?
- Preakness records around 183 days of measurable precipitation annually.
- What hardiness zone is Preakness?
- Preakness sits in the USDA zone set by January lows near 28°F; the USDA ZIP tool gives the band.
- What is the 10-day forecast for Preakness?
- Preakness's extended outlook — daily high and low temperatures and precipitation chances for each upcoming day — is in the daily forecast above.
- Will it rain this week in Preakness?
- See this week's day-by-day rain chances for Preakness in the daily forecast above, and the next 24 hours in the hourly chart.
- What is the weather like right now in Preakness?
- Current conditions for Preakness and the next 24 hours — temperature, precipitation chance, and wind by the hour — are in the hourly forecast chart above.
- How often is the Preakness forecast updated?
- The Preakness forecast on this page is built from Open-Meteo weather-model data and refreshes regularly through the day.
- When are sunrise and sunset in Preakness?
- Today's sunrise and sunset times for Preakness are in the Almanac section above, along with civil dawn, civil dusk, and day length. Day length is longest near the summer solstice and shortest near the winter solstice.
- How accurate is the weather forecast for Preakness?
- The next few days in Preakness's forecast are the most reliable; accuracy declines beyond about a week as weather-model uncertainty grows.
Climate
Preakness, New Jersey has a warm-summer humid continental climate: January averages roughly 28°F, July about 75°F, 47°F between them.
Across the year, Preakness collects about 47 inches of precipitation over roughly 183 days with measurable rain or snow.
At 40.9°N, Preakness's 47°F summer-to-winter swing sets when Preakness's gardens wake and when frost returns.
ZIP codes in Preakness
- 07470