Rain, rain, go away. Eh, not until Saturday!

We've got many more raindrops aiming for New Jersey on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I stand by the claim I made earlier in the week: It's probably going to be raining somewhere in New Jersey at every given time through Saturday afternoon. It's actually very rare to have five consecutive days of solid rainfall — parts of New Jersey could see 5+ inches of total rainfall by the end of the week.

Thursday's rain will be periodic. So far this morning, we've seen a band of moderate to heavy rain lifting northward through the state. At best, roads are wet. At worst, visibility is blinding in spots and ponding on roads will be a problem. There could be lulls in the rainfall action along the way (especially this afternoon/evening, and especially in North Jersey). But overall, it reads as a pretty wet day. High temperatures will range from the mid 60s where it rains for most of the day, to the lower 70s where we get a little break.

A Flood Watch will kick in for central and southern New Jersey Thursday evening through at least Friday morning.

On Friday, our rain looks to become steadier and heavier again, with a possible total washout on the way. With a stiff breeze and temperatures falling from 60 in the morning into the 50s, the day looks nasty overall.

Saturday will start wet, with additional bands of rain moving through the Garden State. Slowly but steadily, the sky will start to dry out and clear out Saturday afternoon, after about 2 p.m. at the earliest. A break in the rain and peek of sunshine would help high temperatures to about 70 degrees. There may very well still be some showers and dampness in the air Saturday evening, but the drying trend should continue and accelerate Saturday night.

I'm happy to report that Sunday's forecast looks mostly dry! (Although I'd be foolish to completely rule out a shower or thunderstorm at some point.) The second half of the weekend looks pleasantly partly sunny, breezy, warm, and humid. Highs are forecast to soar into the summerlike 80 to 85 degrees away from the coast.

Monday looks warm too, although partially unsettled. High temperatures will pop into the 80s for the second day in a row, with a late-day shower or thunderstorm chance.

We'll turn a bit cloudier and cooler for Tuesday, with highs somewhere between the mid 70s and lower 80s. A front will then drive one more push of rain and (strong?) thunderstorms through the Garden State between Tuesday afternoon and early Wednesday morning. (This is a much-revised timeline compared to previous forecasts.)

And then finally, the extended pattern of unsettled weather will be broken! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that sunny, dry, warm weather will take over from the middle of next week through the start of the Memorial Day Weekend.

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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