New Jersey, we deserved this weekend! After 8 consecutive days of extreme heat and humidity that finally broke with heavy rain Friday, our atmosphere finally dried out and cooled down. Upper 70s Saturday. Lower 80s Sunday. Sunny, blue skies. Perfection.

Most of this week looks pleasant and summery too, with two exceptions: a chance of rain around midweek, and potential surf impacts from Tropical Storm Chris.

Monday is beginning with more comfortable conditions across the Garden State, thanks to low humidity and temperatures in the 50s (for most) and 60s (along the coast). Sunshine will once again dominate the sky, with light winds, dry weather, and not-humid air. High temperatures for Monday afternoon are forecast to be a few degrees warmer than Sunday, in the mid to upper 80s for most. The Jersey Shore will be the place to be, with a nice sea breeze and highs in the 70s.

Monday night looks good too, with just a few clouds overhead and low temperatures averaging in the mid 60s.

I'm thinking Tuesday will be the warmest and most humid day of the week — but that's not saying much, as the day still looks nice overall. (Dew points in the 60s really aren't that humid.) High temperatures will peak around 90 degrees (perhaps as high as 93 in SW NJ). Skies will be partly sunny.

And then our one and only substantial storm system of the week arrives Tuesday evening into Tuesday night. This cold front will likely spark a broken line of showers and thunderstorms as it pushes across the state, generally between 7 p.m. Tuesday and 5 a.m. Wednesday. It's one of those situations where 1.) not everyone in the state gets wet, but 2.) there could be some localized downpours. Honestly, the rain looks widely scattered and unimpressive.

I'll keep a "just-in-case" spot shower chance in the forecast for Wednesday, along with mostly cloudy skies and a stiff northerly breeze up to 20 mph. It will be cooler — but still fairly warm in the lower 80s. That's just a degree or two shy of normal highs for mid-July.

Sunshine returns on Thursday, with seasonably summery temps in the mid 80s for most of the state. Pleasant, dry conditions are currently forecast through Friday and the weekend too.

Finally, let's talk about Tropical Storm Chris, currently spinning off the North Carolina coast. That's about 450 miles south of Cape May, New Jersey. As of the 5 a.m. Monday update, the storm is packing sustained winds of 60 mph and is moving south at 1 mph — practically stationary. Chris is expected to remain in place for the next 36 to 48 hours, as it strengthens slightly into a hurricane (75+ mph).

Then, the same front that could bring us some rain Tuesday night will push Chris out to sea, by Wednesday. While no weather impacts are expected for New Jersey, the storm will probably kick up some rough surf and rip currents along the Jersey Shore from Wednesday through Sunday. That's typical of any strong storm system (tropical or not) passing between the U.S. East Coast and Bermuda.

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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