NJ weather: Steamy Friday, stormy Friday night, iffy weekend

Let's begin today's edition of the weather blog with some stats. Thursday was Atlantic City International Airport's 27th 90+ degree day of 2018. (So far, there have been 26 such days at Newark and 20 at Trenton.) We're about to dive into the 13th weekend since Memorial Day Weekend (inclusive). And it's the 10th with measurable rain in the forecast somewhere in the Garden State — yes, you will get wet this weekend. But once again, we're not facing a total washout.

Call it steamy, soupy, or sweaty — Friday is going to be another hot and very humid summer day across the Garden State. In fact, I think it's going to be the most uncomfortable day of the week, as humidity levels surge (dew points in the mid 70s?) High temperatures will generally reach the lower 90s. Even a slight sea breeze will keep the beaches in the 80s.

Skies will become mostly cloudy as the day presses on. As of this writing (6 a.m.), there is a batch of rain falling apart over Pennsylvania. It's close enough to expect a stray shower at any time through Friday afternoon.

Then our attention turns to a stronger frontal boundary that will drive a line of thunderstorms through New Jersey Friday evening. Given the intense heat and humidity, I'm pretty confident these storms will slam into western New Jersey pretty hard. Torrential downpours, lots of lightning, and gusty winds are possible. The Storm Prediction Center puts all of New Jersey in a "marginal risk" and North Jersey in a higher "slight risk" of severe weather.

The atmosphere should calm down after about Midnight Friday night. But it's going to stay steamy, with low temps only falling into the mid 70s.

The weekend. Oh, the weekend. One of these days, we'll have a perfectly pleasant, totally dry weekend. Not this time around, of course.

I still think we'll get a few breaks of sun Saturday morning. But another storm system will ensure most (if not all) of New Jersey will get wet once again. A batch of rain is expected to work through the Garden State Saturday afternoon and evening. I don't see anything too heavy, but the rain could be steady for several hours.

Sunday's forecast is a tricky call. Some models — particularly the almighty Euro — paint a wet and stormy morning as the aforementioned storm system lingers just off the coast. There's reason to be optimistic that we'll see drier, clearer weather by Sunday afternoon, but there's no guarantee.

The other fun fact about Sunday? It's almost certainly going to end up cooler and less humid! High temperatures in the upper 70s? That's practically springlike. I hesitate to call it pleasant because 1.) it's actually below normal for mid-August, and 2.) it might be cloudy and dreary given an on-shore northeasterly wind.

The forecast for Monday and Tuesday looks drier and brighter. Partial sunshine, reasonable humidity, and highs in the lower 80s? Sounds good to me!

Have a great weekend - stay dry!

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