April begins with sunny but cooler weather for NJ

The Bottom Line

Monday night's storms were just as noisy as expected. Fueled by 80-degree heat and pretty high humidity (by March standards), a line of gusty thunderstorms soaked New Jersey through the night.

By the numbers, most of the state (away from the coast) picked up over an inch of healthy rainfall. The "bullseye" was around Warren and Hunterdon counties, where about 2 inches of rain fell. Top wind gusts were close to 50 mph at the tippity-top and tippity-bottom of the state (High Point and Fortescue).

And there was a possible tornado along the Middlesex-Monmouth county border, over a wooded area near Englishtown — no damage was reported, and the National Weather Service is not planning to do a formal storm survey.

Looking ahead, rain has ended and the cold front is through. Sunshine returns Tuesday, but so does cooler air. Temperatures will turn about 25 degrees cooler, as we return to "jacket weather" for a couple days.

Another warmup is coming later this week. But it will arrive alongside some persistently unsettled, showery weather.

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Tuesday

Rain exited the Garden State by around 5 a.m. Tuesday morning. But we still have some mist and drizzle around. And lots of puddles too — watch out for areas of ponding and flooding through the early Tuesday commute.

The sun should emerge pretty quickly as Tuesday morning rolls along. And we'll keep mostly sunny skies through the afternoon, with a stiff northwesterly breeze. The rest of the day will be completely dry.

Temperatures are starting out in the 40s across New Jersey. I think thermometers will settle around 50 to 55 degrees Tuesday afternoon. (We probably hit our daily "high" temperature already, just after midnight.)

As this cool air mass firmly takes hold of the Garden State, Tuesday night is going to get quite chilly. In fact, a widespread frost is likely, with a freeze for the coldest corners of the state. (For the record, that is not unusual for early April.) Overnight low temperatures will dip into the lower to mid 30s for most, with clear skies and calm winds.

Wednesday

One more unseasonably cool day.

Wednesday will start with sunshine, before clouds fill in through the midday and afternoon hours. It will be less breezy than Tuesday, but a few degrees cooler. Highs will only make it to around 50 degrees.

A weak disturbance will clip northern New Jersey Wednesday evening (around 7 or 8 p.m.) producing a chance for a rain shower. It will be brief, and very limited in terms of geography.

Thursday

Warm air returns on Thursday. But so does a daily chance of spot showers.

Highs on Thursday will surge right back into the 70s, on a noticeable southwest breeze. It will feel somewhat humid by the end of the day too.

Do not expect much sunshine though. Thursday will be pretty cloudy from start to finish, with only peeks of filtered sunshine breaking through.

The other hiccup on Thursday will be some hit-or-miss showers and thunderstorms around. I can not really pinpoint a "where" or "when" at this point — just keep an eye on the sky, and consider keeping an umbrella handy. (There is a marginal risk of severe weather, given the heat and humidity in the air.)

Friday

Still on the warm side. But also still unsettled.

I will call Friday mostly cloudy — perhaps a little brighter and less gloomy than Thursday. High temperatures will scale back a little bit, to the 60s. That is still above normal for early April.

There are two distinct batches of showers showing up in the forecast models for Friday: One in the morning, and one late at night. That means there will hopefully be a solid window for outdoor activities in the afternoon and evening hours.

The Extended Forecast

I have to be honest. The forecast for the weekend is a hot mess right now. There will be spotty showers in the neighborhood. And probably dramatic temperature gradients too — where areas to the north and east end up significantly cooler than to the south and west.

For now, I will plug in clouds, 50s, and spotty to scattered showers for Saturday — likely the drearier day of the weekend.

Next Sunday could be very similar to last Sunday, with 40s to the north and 70s to the southwest. A round of widespread rain and potential thunderstorms will accompany a cold frontal passage Sunday night.

Our weather should dry out and simmer down next week. Temperatures are still trending on the cool side, with more highs in the 50s than anything else.

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