Monday NJ weather: Early drizzle and flurries, then breaks of sun

The Bottom Line

Welcome to the Monday-est Monday of the year! As we dive into the first workday and school day of 2021, the departure of our latest storm system will lead to generally quiet and consistently cool temperatures this week. We'll talk about a few snowflakes and raindrops, a breezy day, and the potential for more significant weather by the end of the week.

Monday

Our latest storm system delivered up to a half-inch of rain, a trace of ice, a half-inch of sleet, and 3.5 inches of snow to New Jersey. (That top snow total was reported at Wantage Township in Sussex County.)

We're now on the back edge of that system, as it strengthens and heads out to see. Radar continues to pick up on patchy drizzle and flurries early Monday morning, especially across central and southern New Jersey. That smattering of raindrops and snowflakes will be with us through mid to late morning. Wet roads might be a little bit slick, and it'll just feel "yucky".

One final concern from our exiting storm is the threat for localized minor coastal flooding during the midday high tide cycle. Water levels are expected to rise only a few inches.

We'll break into partial sunshine Monday afternoon. High temperatures should reach about 40 to 45 degrees, just a hair above normal for early January.

Skies will remain mostly cloudy Monday night. Lows fall to the freezing mark, the lower 30s.

Tuesday

Our weather looks a little unsettled throughout the day on Tuesday, with spotty sprinkles and flurries in the neighborhood. Very scattered and light, no big deal. With lots of clouds, thermometers will struggle to reach 40 degrees.

Wednesday

Bright and sunny, but breezy as a reinforcing shot of cool air arrives from the northwest. Highs will be seasonable in the lower 40s.

Thursday

Probably our nicest day of the week. Look for more sunshine, lighter winds, and highs in the mid 40s.

The Extended Forecast

There are two date ranges to circle on your calendar, for possible storm systems and winter weather.

The first is Friday-Saturday. Forecast models have been picking up on a pretty potent storm system in that time frame passing just south of New Jersey. Both the GFS and Euro models show a miss at this point. But it's a little too close for comfort, in my opinion. So it's worth keeping an eye on as the week rolls on.

Next storm threat would be in the neighborhood of next Monday-Tuesday, a 7 to 8 day forecast. At the moment the GFS puts NJ on the warm side of the storm, with just rain. But the Euro trends much colder, and therefore snowier. Again, worth watching. We really can't get more specific on winter storm forecasts until we're within 72 to 96 hours.

Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter for the latest forecast and realtime weather updates.