The Bottom Line

I am happy to report the week ahead features more good weather days than bad. However, we do have a few rain chances to talk about — late Monday, and Wednesday morning. And things will start to heat up a bit by next weekend.

Monday

Sunday was a total sob-fest, and New Jersey's coolest day since May. So it's not hard to imagine that Monday will be a much brighter, drier, warmer, and more pleasant day.

It is a refreshing, comfortable start to the day with temperatures mainly in the lower 60s — we even have some 50s in spots. Under mostly to partly sunny skies, high temperatures will make it to about 80 degrees by Monday afternoon. That is just shy of mid-August normals. Overall, a nice day.

However, we do have to talk about an approaching cold front, which will deliver a bit of rain. Thunderstorms may encroach upon northwestern New Jersey by mid-late afternoon. These initial storms may contain some wind gusts and downpours.

For most of the state, we''ll face a quick line of tamer showers and thunderstorms Monday night. (That is, IF the rain holds together all the way to the coast.) After the rain, skies will partially clear. And temperatures will be comfortable once again, in the mid 60s.

Tuesday

A real winner of a weather day. Lots of sunshine. Seasonably warm. Low humidity. Highs in the lower to mid 80s. No complaints!

Wednesday

Our midweek day could get a little dreary and gloomy again, as a batch of rain slides through (mainly) the southern half of the state during the morning. Everyone in NJ faces clouds and cooler temperatures, with highs limited to about 75 to 80 degrees. I don't think it will be a near-washout like Sunday.

Thursday

Don't worry — we'll flip back to sunshine and lower 80s on Thursday! Another very nice day, and the beginning of our next warming trend.

Friday & Beyond

Friday looks good too, with partly sunny skies and mid 80s (away from the coast).

Thermometers will start to cook again next weekend, although I think we'll stay away from "extreme" heat and humidity territory. Mid to upper 80s Saturday. Closer to 90 on Sunday. Models are picking up on scattered showers both early and late on Saturday — but they look hit or miss for now. As always, we'll have better resolution, higher forecast confidence, and more detail later in the week.

Finally, there are two tropical waves way down in the tropical Atlantic Ocean that we are monitoring for development. They're at least a week and a half away from the U.S. Just watching, that's all.

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

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