Friday NJ weather: Quiet and chilly, no active weather for another week

The Bottom Line

This forecast will be brief, becauase there's really not much going on. A powerful storm system is passing about 400 miles south of New Jersey on Friday, throwing some clouds and maybe a shower our way. Other than that, sunshine and seasonable temperatures will dominate through next week.

Friday

First of all, we're off to a cold start — our coldest morning of the week, in fact. Everyone in New Jersey has frozen, with abundant 20s on the temperature map. So bundle up! We'll see high temperatures in the lower 40s Friday afternoon, slightly cooler than Thursday and slightly above seasonal normals.

Skies will become mostly cloudy to overcast over South Jersey Friday, with a storm system sliding well to our south. Farther north, we'll see partial sunshine throughout the day. Based on the latest model and (especially) radar trends, I will still include a slight chance of a rain/snow shower for NJ's southern coast. But I wouldn't bet on it.

Friday night will be partly cloudy and cold, with lows back in the 20s (away from cities and the coast).

Saturday

Turning mostly sunny, with a stiff northerly breeze up to 20 mph. Seasonable (typical for early January), although the coldest day of the week. Highs will be limited to about 40 degrees.

Sunday

More sunshine and lighter winds. High temperatures in the lower 40s.

Monday

Still nothing. Sunny and dry. Lower to mid 40s.

The Extended Forecast

A passing storm system on Tuesday could bring a few showers (rain or snow) to New Jersey. It doesn't look like a big deal at all.

Models show a slow warmup through the middle of next week. We could end up close to 50 degrees by Thursday.

It still looks like we'll transition to a more active weather pattern by the end of next week. That means the atmosphere will become more "wavy," returning an active storm track overhead. So our next chance for a big warmup, arctic blast, or storm system will be next weekend — at the earliest.

Have a great weekend — enjoy the sunshine!

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