WOODBRIDGE - Governors now double as meteorologists. That's just the way things are these days.

Nothing inherently wrong with that, although the cynical among us can wonder why the need for public officials to simply advocate basic common sense.

Drink water in very hot weather.

Be careful about working outside.

Don't leave kids or pets in locked cars.

The ocean can be unpredictable, so don't swim without a lifeguard.

Check in on the elderly.

Mikie Sherrill on Wednesday was joined by police and utility officials to talk about the above.

Yes, it tends to get very hot periodically every summer, the governor acknowledged. But this is different.

"This is extreme, extreme heat," she said from the State Traffic Management Center near where various roads, including the Turnpike and Parkway intersect.

Forecasts are for temperatures on Thursday and Friday to approach, or surpass, 100 degrees. That does not include the "real feel" temperature. There hasn't been a heat wave like that in the state for about 15 years, she said.

Other than advice, the governor stressed that officials will monitor the state's transit and energy infrastructure. She said residents can help by lowering the air conditioning when they leave home and by doing such things as charging electric vehicles at night.

Additionally, cooling centers will be available statewide for those who need them.

Sherrill is not alone. Just about every governor or mayor gives similar warnings.

Across the river, Mayor Zohran Mamdani was quoted today as saying, "With humidity, it could feel even hotter." Hmm.

The feeling here is that it's not that elected officials think people are idiots. It is just a need to cover oneself if things go tragically wrong. Human nature perhaps.

We more typically see this in the winter when governors have become fanatical about warning the populace of an approaching blizzard.

In some ways that makes more sense, given the fact storms can close roads, or in the least, make travel dangerous.

Sherrill, in fact, referred to her early days in office when New Jersey was hit by a number of winter storms, including a blizzard in late February.

A bit wistfully, the governor remarked that cold weather would seem good around now.