All eyes on Sunday storm: Heavy rain and strong winds for NJ

The Bottom Line

After three days, the chill finally relaxes on Friday. In fact, we have a stretch of pleasant weather and a three-day warming trend ahead.

However, as the headline of this post suggests, our weather goes downhill bigtime on Sunday. A strong cold front will deliver some stormy, nasty weather. The weekend will end with about 2 inches of rain, 40-50 mph wind gusts, and a 20-30 degree temperature drop.

Temperatures will then turn colder again for early next week.

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Friday

It is still pretty cold Friday morning. (Colder than I expected, in fact.) 20s and 30s may have you reaching for a heavy coat early on.

But Friday afternoon will be much more comfortable than the past few days. A full 10 degrees warmer, in fact. Look for highs around the upper 40s to near 50. That is seasonable — typical for the 8th of December.

Weather-wise, there is nothing to complain about Friday. Periods of sun will alternate with clouds, winds stay light, and our weather will be completely dry.

Friday night stays quiet, for the most part. Mainly clear skies will allow for chilly temperatures, in the mid 30s. The only obstacle is the possibility of patchy dense fog through Saturday morning.

Saturday

Even though fog may linger a bit early on, and clouds will thicken up as the day presses on, Saturday will be a reasonably pleasant December day.

Highs will reach about 50 to 55 degrees. Again, staying dry and calm.

Sunday

Sunday, however, will be anything but dry and calm. There are three W's in the forecast: Warm, Windy, and Wet. (In that order.)

You may catch some dry weather Sunday morning. It will be cloudy. It will be windy. And it will be fairly warm, as high temperatures push to 60+ degrees across most of NJ.

Drizzle and showers come into view starting around midday Sunday, with rain becoming more and more prominent through the afternoon.

The brunt of the storm will be Sunday evening and overnight, as torrential rain and strong wind gusts become likely. The worst weather will be from about 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Flooding is a possibility, with widespread 1 to 2 inches of rainfall. (And locally higher amounts.)

Wind gusts are forecast to peak around 40 to 50 mph, strong enough to cause power outages and driving difficulties.

Because those wind will blow from the south then the northwest, we will avoid any coastal flooding impacts.

Sometime overnight, the frontal boundary will arrive. Shoving out the rain, and sparking a sharp drop in temperatures. Thermometers should drop 20 to 30 degrees (from 60s to maybe 30s) within just a few hours.

Monday

Showers may linger over New Jersey through just after sunrise Monday. And because of the newfound resurgence of cold, there is a chance for some wet snowflakes mixed in. Mainly a concern for NW NJ. But no accumulation or significant travel impacts are expected.

To be clear: This is really not a winter storm for New Jersey. It's a soaking wet one.

The rest of Monday will bring increasing sunshine, a brisk wind, and the return of chilly temperatures. Thermometers will settle in the lower to mid 40s Monday afternoon. (I can not call that the daily "high" temperature, because it may technically still be warmer just after Midnight, pre-front.)

The Extended Forecast

Quiet and cool will be the name of the game next week. The latest forecast shows 40s with sunshine for Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, at least.

Next hint of a storm system is a week and a half away. Long-range models show another big rainmaker around Monday the 18th.

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