NJ weather: Cloudy skies, occasional rain, seasonable temps

Most of New Jersey woke up to a fresh blanket of snow on the ground Monday morning. South Jersey was just wet. The last licks of light snow and rain have exited New Jersey, and now we will see peeks of sun and calm conditions through the rest of President's Day. It will be the coolest day of the week, with highs barely touching 40 degrees. Tuesday will ten flirt with 50 degrees. But the rest of the week will stay rather active and unsettled, with mostly cloudy skies and a few more disturbances set to ride through our atmosphere. Occasional showers are expected on Wednesday. And more rain is forecast for Friday. Some models show significant snow returning to New Jersey next weekend, but that is far from a sure bet at this time.

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Monday NJ weather: Peeks of sun

Much of New Jersey is grabbing the snow brush and/or shovel to start the day, or at least dodging puddles and mist on the roads. Our storm system is long gone now. But we will see residual clouds. And the cloud cover plus snow cover will keep temperatures on the cool side Monday — it will probably be the coolest day of the week.

Expect peeks of sun from late morning through the afternoon. Along with dry weather and a light wind. Temperatures will be in the 30s for the duration, maxing out around 35 to 40 degrees. Cooler than this weekend, and below normal for this time of year.

Monday night will stay quiet, with lows around 30 degrees.

Tuesday NJ weather: Back to the mild side

Tuesday will stay mostly cloudy. But temperatures will warm to around 45 to 50. The farther southwest you go, the better your shot at 50+ degrees. (That will be the case throughout the week.)

A little wave will clip through northern New Jersey Tuesday morning, and could produce an isolated shower. This could be some wintry mix — snowflakes, raindrops, and/or ice pellets. The chance is very limited, and I am not worried about travel impacts. It is just worth mentioning here.

Wednesday NJ weather: Occasional rain showers

Our next substantial storm system rolls in on Wednesday. And two pieces of atmospheric energy are going to affect New Jersey: One in the morning, and one later in the day. That means we are likely to see two rounds of light to moderate precipitation: One in the morning, and one later in the day.

Given the fact that temperatures will be in the 40s throughout the day Wednesday, I think the bulk of Wednesday's storm will be rain. There could be some snow or sleet mixed in at times, especially with the first round (if it's early enough) and especially around higher elevation areas of North Jersey. But accumulations and widespread travel issues seem unlikely.

To be clear, it is not going to rain all day Wednesday. And it will not rain hard. Total rainfall will probably be about a quarter-inch. Skies will stay cloudy though, keeping temperatures mainly in the 40s. Again, the southwest corner of the state will have a shot at 50+ degrees.

Thursday NJ weather: Lots of clouds, more storms lined up

In between storm systems, Thursday will feature cloudy skies. I think there will be an especially wide temperature gradient, ranging from upper 30s (north) to lower 50s (southwest).

Another rainmaker storm system moves in Friday. This one looks a bit heavier and steadier than Friday. And some model guidance is pointing toward a snowy end for North Jersey, if precipitation lingers into Friday night.

Beyond that, we will have to keep a close eye on the weekend. The GFS model is going nuts again about a double-digit snow chance around the Sunday time frame. Other long-range models do show something there, although the GFS solution stands alone as a high outlier. Other models, including the almighty Euro show zip, zilch, nada, nothing at all.

You know how this works. We sit and watch and wait. Until about Wednesday. If there's something more to be said about weekend said, I promise you will among the first to know.

5 DAY FORECAST: New Jersey Weather Center