The final weekend of March is almost here! And the next two days will feature a welcome taste of warmth and pleasantry. (Alongside clouds and sprinkles.) Sunday, however, will be a very different weather day, with rain and cooler air returning to the Garden State.

Friday morning is starting off comfortably cool, with statewide temperatures in the 40s. Skies will be mostly cloudy Friday, and a few hit-or-miss showers will clip northern New Jersey. Let's be clear though — mild temps are clearly the big story of the day. In fact, if you live south of Interstate 78, it may be a totally dry day. I have to say Friday evening looks particularly lovely.

I'm calling Friday night cool, rather than chilly or cold. Low temperatures will fall to somewhere in the mid to upper 40s. Even though we'll maintain a blanket of clouds overhead, the weather looks dry.

Our atmosphere will cook even more on Saturday, as thermometers soar into the upper 60s to lower 70s for all areas away from the coast. Nice and warm! We'll enjoy a mix of clouds and sun, with a fresh southerly breeze. I can't guarantee a completely dry day, with the slightest chance of a shower. (Again, I've opted to leave it out of my on-air forecasts.) Overall, a great start to the final weekend of March.

However, Sunday's weather picture will be less spectacular. An approaching cold front will spark a round of rain from Sunday morning through midday. No deluges here — rainfall totals should stay below a half-inch. Clouds will begin to part Sunday afternoon, but temperatures will also start to tumble. While we'll catch a high temperature in the mid 50s around lunchtime Sunday, thermometers will probably dip into the 40s by sunset.

By Monday morning, it's going to be pretty cold around here (comparatively speaking, at least). With morning lows in the lower 30s, a freeze is possible. And Monday afternoon's high temperatures will be limited to around 50 degrees. Not terrible, but definitely noticeable and definitely below-normal for the first day of April.

The next weather system worth watching will be a coastal storm aiming for New Jersey in the late Tuesday to Wednesday time frame. You might see some call this one a nor'easter — given the storm track, I suppose that description fits. But as usual, it's a little hype-ish for my taste.

Anyway, models have settled on a consensus forecast showing steady rain over NJ from Tuesday evening through Wednesday afternoon. Heavy rain is probable. Snowflakes are possible in far northern New Jersey — and if the storm shifts a bit, I could see some snow/slush accumulation potential. Yes, it can snow in April1

Temperatures next week will average in the seasonable range, generally in the lower 50s early in the week and upper 50s by the first weekend of April.

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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