Our weather is heading downhill with increasing clouds, gusty winds, showers and thunderstorms, and eventually cooler temperatures.

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Here are your weather headlines for Wednesday, April 22, 2015...

Weather Going Downhill Today

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A few showers and sprinkles have popped up on radar this morning, moving eastward across Pennsylvania. If those raindrops survive the trip into New Jersey and if the air isn’t too dry for that rain to evaporate before reaching the ground, we could see a few showers and sprinkles this morning. Nothing major, and probably not umbrella necessary - just a few raindrops.

But you’d be smart to grab that umbrella for later today. A line of showers and storms will push through New Jersey this afternoon and evening, starting as early as Noon and potentially lasting through about Midnight (give or take a couple of hours either way). The Storm Prediction Center has placed the entire state in a “Marginal Risk” for severe winds and hail today. That's the lowest category (out of five) for severe weather risk. Heavy downpours are possible too, but they won’t last that long, as rain totals are forecast to end up in the 0.25” to 0.50” range.

Be sure to keep an eye on the sky and stay alert to changing weather conditions today, especially before and during any travel. Keep in mind, the chance for rain and strong thunderstorms will peak during the evening commute.

Cooler End to Workweek

Behind tonight’s rain, cooler air will filter into New Jersey. In fact, we're expecting the first bout of below-normal temperatures in almost two weeks.

Overnight lows will fall to the 34° to 40° range tonight, which will be cold enough for frost to potentially form. However, the wet ground may act as an insulator and prevent ice crystals from forming. In any case, it’s going to be a pretty cold start to your Thursday morning, so be prepared to dress accordingly.

High temperatures on Thursday and Friday will be limited to the 50s across the entire state. That probably means you’ll need the jacket not only in the morning, but also through the afternoon. That’s especially true considering the brisk west-northwest wind that will keep the air moving and keep things cool. There’s also a chance for a shower or sprinkle on Thursday, mainly late in the day and mainly in North Jersey.

Weekend Mostly OK

The whole weekend is now in the 5-Day Forecast, and it’s looking all right... but certainly not as gorgeous as our past two weekends.

Temperatures will remain on the cool side of normal, thanks to northwest winds. Highs for both Saturday and Sunday will end up on either side of 60°. Certainly springlike.

In addition, a storm system will be passing through the Mid-Atlantic states on Saturday. At the least, that will increase cloud cover for South Jersey on Saturday. At the most, we’ll see some showers on Saturday evening in South Jersey. And, if the forecast track of this low shifts northward, we may have to increase cloud cover and rain chances for the rest of the state.

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