The Bottom Line

Backyards, parks, and boardwalks have been very popular places this week, thanks to sunny, mild conditions. We’ll keep the awesome spring weather going for another day or two. However, increasing cloud cover and raindrops could make the end of the weekend iffy.

Meanwhile, temperatures will be fairly consistent, with the next 5 days topping out within about 5 degrees of 70. Springlike and pleasant. Check out the extended forecast below for a chance of summer-ish 80s coming next week.

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Friday

Copy and paste. Lather, rinse, repeat. Friday will be almost an exact replica of Thursday’s great weather.

We’re starting off cool, with temperatures ranging from the upper 30s in the Pine Barrens to the lower 50s at the beach.

We’ll end up warm. Thermometers will start to jump upward rapidly around 9 a.m., reaching 70 to 75 degrees by Friday afternoon.

Bright sunshine and blue skies in the morning will yield to puffy, friendly clouds building in the afternoon. The wind will be almost calm.

Because of the light ambient wind and abundant sunshine, the sea breeze machine will probably fire up more than it has in recent days. I expect coastal communities along the Jersey Shore (east of the Parkway) to get stuck in the 60s Friday afternoon. Still pleasant, just cooler.

One more note about Friday. There is a non-zero chance of spotty showers, if you believe forecast models. I still think our air is too dry to support any substantial raindrops, so I’m still leaving it out of the forecast.

Friday night will be quiet, mainly clear, and seasonably cool. Low temperatures will bottom out around 50.

Saturday

Nice and warm, for sure. Highs will pop into the mid 70s. Skies will be less “bright and blue” Saturday, but we’ll still call it “partly sunny”. A really nice mid-May day.

I do have to include a popup shower chance Saturday afternoon or evening. It’s a slight chance, at best - you’d have to get very unlucky to see raindrops. And even if you do, they probably won’t last longer than 20-30 minutes. Best chance of showers will fall between 3 p.m. and 11 p.m. Saturday.

Sunday

Could get iffy, as our next storm system approaches. As atmospheric moisture increases, skies will become mostly cloudy. And high temperatures will scale back slightly, to around the 70 degree mark (give or take).

Additionally, we’ll be watching for some rain starting Sunday afternoon. I’m calling it “A few hit-or-miss rain showers”. So the day won’t be a washout. I don’t see anything heavy or prolonged. And not everyone in New Jersey is guaranteed to get wet. But it may still affect your outdoor plans for the tail-end of the weekend.

As we’ve discussed, a bit of rain would not necessarily be a bad thing right about now. We’re running a rainfall deficit at the moment - about six percent of North Jersey falls into the “Abnormally Dry” category according to the latest Drought Monitor report. And if we don’t see significant rainfall soon, more and more of New Jersey will spiral toward drought concerns.

Monday

Previously, I was thinking Monday would be a damp and dreary day, with periods of rain and thick clouds. Things look much better now, as the core of the storm system in question dives south of NJ.

I think we’ll still see thick clouds and areas of drizzle, especially early on. But I’m optimistic some sunshine will break through. And I’ve warmed our high temperature forecast into the mid-upper 60s as a result. Not as beautiful as our current stretch of weather, but not horrible either.

The Extended Forecast

Another warmup kicks in next week, fueled by a southwest breeze. Widespread 70s return on Tuesday. We’ll flirt with 80 on Wednesday. And widespread 80s are possible away from the coast on Thursday, with a hint of humidity in the air.

The next opportunity for rain doesn’t show up in the forecast until next Friday-Saturday.

Enjoy the weekend, as we pass the midpoint of May. Only two weeks until Memorial Day Weekend!

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

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