As a third consecutive day of oppressive heat hung over New Jersey on Tuesday, state climatologist David Robinson was looking ahead to what else could be in store in a year of extreme weather. The state is on the verge of a drought, he said. “It’s really something that’s getting a little worrisome,” Robinson said. “The reservoirs will start really falling, rivers will start falling. Soil moisture is really low.”

He said some soaking rains could change that outlook. Some thunderstorms could roll in later in the week as the temperature drops a bit.

But already the situation is bad enough that New Jersey American Water Co. has told residents in Monmouth County to stop watering lawns and washing cars and has asked Ocean County residents to voluntarily limit water use. And last week, fire crews had to deal with three blazes in the parched Pinelands.

Robinson said the only reason the state isn’t mired in a drought already is that the first three months of the year were the wettest on record. AP