Friday will be 30 degrees cooler than earlier this week across NJ

Friday will be a rather unusual weather day by late June standards, as we stay under thick clouds with occasional showers, sprinkles, and drizzle around. High temperatures will be limited to the lower 70s - quite a difference from the 100s earlier this week. Warming up into the last weekend of June, mainly in the 80s. Pretty typical summertime weather. The only big thing to watch will be a brief window for strong thunderstorms on Saturday.

Friday NJ weather: Blah and relatively cool

In mid-May, a day like this would be totally normal. But here in late June, in the throes of summertime, we are craving nice warm beach and pool weather. (Although not the kind of extreme heat garbage we experienced earlier this week.)

Friday is our relief (and our reward?) for our 6-day heat wave. A good opportunity to get outside and say "Ahhhh" instead of "Ugh."

Temperatures are in the 60s to start Friday morning, from top to bottom across the state. First time it has been this comfortably cool in almost a week.

High temperatures will be limited to the lower 70s Friday, as we remain in a cool marine air mass. Areas to the north and east may actually get stuck in the upper 60s all day. I could see southwestern New Jersey hit about 75 degrees. But all around, well below normal for this time of year.

With lots of clouds overhead, there may be occasional sprinkles or patchy drizzle around too. Nothing that will get in your way, necessarily. Just some dampness to make the day feel more "blah" overall. It will be breezy at times too.

Friday night stays mostly cloudy, quiet, and comfortable. Lows will dip into the mid 60s or so.

Saturday NJ weather: Warming then storming

I like this weekend's forecast. Even though we have to talk about surging humidity and a chance of thunderstorms, there will be plenty of time to get outside and enjoy some summer activities.

As a warm front lifts through New Jersey Saturday morning, I can not completely rule out an isolated shower to start the day. I am leaning toward a dry solution, but the possibility is worth mentioning.

Under a mix of clouds and sun, warmer air will push back into New Jersey Saturday. High temperatures will reach about 85 to 90 degrees in the afternoon. It is going to turn very humid too, adding to the sweat factor in the air. The heat index will be in the 90s — not "dangerous heat," just a bit uncomfortable.

The big thing to watch Saturday will be an approaching cold front firing off a round of showers and thunderstorms late-day. Everyone is probably going to get a little bit wet on Saturday. But again, definitely not all day.

I think these raindrops hold off until after about 5 or 6 p.m. But, given the newfound heat and humidity in the atmosphere, any storms that do form could produce downpours and gusty winds.

Given the timing, there is a good chance storms will weaken or fizzle out before reaching the southern coast. Final raindrops should exit the state by Midnight.

Sunday NJ weather: A great day

I can find no complaints about Sunday. It will not be that much cooler than Saturday, maybe a degree or cooler. But it will definitely be less humid.

Sunday will also be the brighter day of the weekend, with partly sunny skies turning mostly sunny through the afternoon. I'm seeing no chance of rain.

High temperatures will reach the mid 80s, very close to normal this time of year. (Really, any time we are in the 80s in the summer months, we are doing well.)

Monday NJ weather: Hot with some rain

Monday will be another hot one, as temperatures surge back toward 90 degrees. Not awful, not extreme. Just sweaty. Expect cloud cover to increase steadily throughout the day.

There is a chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms on Monday too. This is a new wrinkle in the forecast, and one that I do not think our forecast models are handling well at the moment. So I will include mention of the possibility, and we can suss out details like storm timing and intensity later.

Tuesday NJ weather: No big changes

Next week is all about the lead up to the big 4th of July holiday weekend. (Independence Day itself is a week away, next Friday.)

Tuesday looks very warm as well, in the 80s at least, with another potential round of late-day storms.

I think we will see more 80s through the middle to late part of next week. Humidity will be somewhere between the "moderate" and "high" categories.

There are no big storms in the long-range forecast. Having said that, it would be difficult to make it through the entire extended holiday weekend with no rain. (July is, after all, New Jersey's average wettest month of the year.)

At the moment, the best chance of rain will be after the 4th, on either Saturday or Sunday of next weekend. Generally good news for fireworks fans. But forecast skill and confidence this far out (8 to 9 days) is very low. Just dreaming about possibilities here, since it is one of the most important forecasts of the year.

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