A flip-flopping forecast for NJ: Dry Thursday, wet Friday
Oh, you might get dizzy from the weather forecast over the next few days! Get ready to go from dry to wet to dry to wet to dry to warm to warmer.
Some spots saw over an inch of total rainfall on Wednesday. And, right on schedule, skies have started to clear overnight. We had some fog problems earlier, but statewide sensors show near-perfect visibility as you begin your day.
I have no hesitation in calling Thursday a pleasant day. We'll see partly to mostly sunny skies, an occasional breeze to 20 mph, and high temperatures in the upper 60s to 70 degrees.
Thursday night will be comfortable, with lows falling to about the 50 degree mark. Clouds will start to roll back in.
And then we flip back to the wet side for Friday, as another storm system rolls through New Jersey. This one will be more compact than Wednesday's rainmaker, so the damp impacts will be a bit shorter-lived. Still a wet day, with a brief period of heavy rain possible from Friday late morning through .
The clouds and rain will limit high temperatures to the upper 50s to lower 60s on Friday.
April's grand finale weekend still looks mostly nice. But I've made some tweaks to the going forecast that make it far from perfect.
Saturday starts off fine. We'll see clouds early and late in the day, with a few hours of midday sun in the middle. High temperatures will be back on the warm side, near 70 degrees across the state. Even the coast should see 60s — I believe the westerly breeze will overcome any potential sea breeze cooling effect.
However, an approaching cold front promises to drive a brief round of showers through the state late-day Saturday, sweeping from west to east after about 4 p.m. With the warmth and relative humidity building throughout the day, a few thunderstorms will be possible too. As you're enjoying the warmth and pleasant weather on Saturday, keep an eye on the western sky.
Weekend hiccup #2 will be slightly cooler temperatures for Sunday. But with partial sunshine and dry weather, it should still be a pleasant Spring day. Thermometers will climb to around 60 degrees Sunday afternoon, just slightly below normal for late April.
Then, a sizable ridge of high pressure builds over the eastern United States for most of next week. That means we'll enjoy an extended period of 1.) sunshine, 2.) dry weather, and 3.) warming temperatures. 60s on Monday, 70s on Tuesday, 80s on Wednesday and Thursday. (If we really get cooking, could a 90-degree ob become possible???) Our next substantial rain chance won't arrive until next Friday evening.