NJ weather: One more round of storms, weekend looks terrific

The Bottom Line

It has been a pretty active weather week. When you're not braving dark skies and pouring rain, you're chewing through heat and humidity. Finally, I get to talk about some truly pleasant weather. Both for the Thursday daytime hours and especially for the upcoming weekend.

However, there is one storm system in the forecast here too, a warm front-cold front complex that will deliver yet another round of stormy, active weather. That may impact your outdoor plans for Friday.

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Thursday

Thursday looks like a good beach or pool day, with seasonably warm temperatures and mainly dry weather.

We are starting the morning with clear skies and a clear radar. There are some patches of fog, which should lift quickly as temperatures start to rise by mid-morning.

High temperatures are expected to reach the mid 80s across most of the state. As the wind becomes southeasterly, Jersey Shore beaches will benefit from a nice sea breeze, potentially keeping temps in the 70s through the afternoon.

We will see a mix of sun and clouds throughout the day. Can I completely rule out a tiny, town-sized, isolated shower or thunderstorm at some point? No. But the vast majority of NJ will stay completely dry Thursday.

Rain showers may start to creep in Thursday night, with the best chance coming well after Midnight. Low temperatures will descend to around the 70-degree mark.

Friday

An unsettled day, with another threat of heavy rain and flooding in play. I want to focus my discussion on the timeline of Friday's storms, so you can plan outdoor events and activities accordingly. And I think we can break the outlook into three parts.

1.) Early Morning to Midday (4 a.m. to 1 p.m.)... Scattered thunderstorms likely. The stormiest part of the day. Heavy rain is the biggest concern, with gusty winds and frequent lightning possible too.

2.) Afternoon to Early Evening (1 p.m. to 7 p.m.)... Spotty showers may linger for a bit, especially to the south and east.

3.) Evening (7 p.m.)... Drying out and clearing out, as humidity drops into the overnight hours.

Overall, rainfall totals could top an inch or two. Latest guidance suggests northern New Jersey will be the most waterlogged sector of the state.

In between raindrops, it will be a mostly cloudy and murky day. And it will feel steamy, with high temperatures again in the mid 80s. (Again, don't expect much relief from the humidity until Friday night.)

Saturday

There could be some residual clouds hanging around Saturday morning. But if that's the only weather "issue" in the forecast, you know it is going to be a good day.

Clouds will give way to sunshine Saturday. And dew points will be in the 60s. Possibly dropping into the 50s by Saturday night. That is some nice low humidity for the middle of summer.

High temperatures on Saturday should end up around 80 to 85 degrees. Slightly below normal for the average hottest time of the year.

Sunday

Sunday will be another beautiful summer day. A little warmer than Saturday, with highs 85 to 90 degrees. Again mostly sunny, not that humid, and completely dry.

Monday & Beyond

Our weather turns steamier and stormier again next week. Although the latest forecast limits our stormy weather to isolated/spotty popups.

We will also flirt with 90 degrees again on Monday and Tuesday, at least.

There are no big storm systems on NJ's horizon, including the tropics. I suspect we'll just keep rolling through the seasonably hot weather to close out July and begin August.

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