Tropical Storm Fay made landfall just northeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey on Friday afternoon – making it the first Atlantic tropical storm to make landfall in New Jersey during the month of July on record, and the first fully tropical cyclone to make landfall in the state since Irene in 2011.

Fay peaked with maximum sustained winds of 50 knots (60 mph) and a minimum pressure of 998 mb at 2:00 p.m. EDT Friday. Since that time, Fay has begun a weakening trend as the center moves northward over eastern New Jersey. As of 8:00 p.m. EDT Friday, Tropical Storm Fay was centered near 40.1°N 74.3°W, and was moving northward at about 14 mph. Maximum sustained winds were 40 knots (45 mph), with an estimated minimum pressure of 1000 mb. Fay no longer looks like a classical tropical cyclone, with the remaining deep convection far east of the center. Fay still qualifies as a tropical storm, since the cyclone continues to maintain a warm core for now. Fay should continue to weaken and will likely become a post-tropical remnant low on Saturday morning.

Fay is already the third tropical storm to make landfall in the United States of this young 2020 Atlantic hurricane season (Bertha made landfall in South Carolina in May, and Cristobal made landfall in Louisiana in June). It is also interesting to note that this season has had at least two named storms form in the months of May, June and July for the first time on record, with at least United States one tropical storm landfall in each of those months. However, it appears likely the Atlantic will enter a lull after Fay’s dissipation, with no reliable global models indicating any tropical cyclone genesis over the coming 7-10 days. The next name on the Atlantic naming list is Gonzalo, and if it forms before July 24, it would be the earliest 7th Atlantic named storm on record.