High temperatures will break records in New Jersey this weekend

Our weather will stay unseasonably warm through at least Monday, with widespread 60s in the forecast for the Garden State.

The next four days - Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday - will bring widespread high temperatures in the 60s to New Jersey. That's 15 to 20+ degrees above normal for mid-December, and record high temperatures will be in jeopardy!

A Dense Fog Advisory was issued for early this morning for parts of Ocean, Burlington, Atlantic, Cape May, and Cumberland counties. Some visibility numbers have fallen to a quarter-mile or less - you'll obviously want to slow down if you're driving through one of these pea soup spots. As the sun rises and as the wind increases to 10 to 15 mph later this morning, the fog should dissipate earlier rather than later.

Clouds will increase this weekend - especially on Sunday. And I can't completely rule out a slim chance for a sprinkle at any given time. The big weather story, however, will be the warm temperatures. Rather than boring you with several paragraphs taking over and over again about how daily highs will be in the near-record 60s, I'll just show you the statistics for the three climatology sites in the state...

Friday
--Newark: Forecast 62... Record 65 (1971)
--Trenton: Forecast 61... Record 65 (1911)
--Atlantic City: Forecast 66... Record 66 (1971)

Saturday
--Newark: Forecast 64... Record 68 (1931)
--Trenton: Forecast 63... Record 67 (1931)
--Atlantic City: Forecast 67... Record 67 (1931)

Sunday
--Newark: Forecast 66... Record 64 (1923)
--Trenton: Forecast 66... Record 65 (1990)
--Atlantic City: Forecast 67... Record 69 (1991)

Monday
--Newark: Forecast 63... Record 63 (2001)
--Trenton: Forecast 63... Record 67 (1901)
--Atlantic City: Forecast 67... Record 65 (1929)

By Monday afternoon and evening, a cold front will put an end to the 60s. That front should deliver 6-12 hour stretch of potentially heavy rain and gusty winds, anywhere from Noon Monday through early Tuesday morning. Behind the front will be a westerly wind and somewhat cooler temperatures... However, the models are showing mostly 50s for highs for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday (at least)... That's still well above normal!

We might see a reinforcing shot of truly colder air by the end of the next week. But for now, enjoy the fact we can trade a jacket for a t-shirt for this unseasonably warm December weekend!

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