Finally, beautiful weather and calmer seas return to NJ Wednesday

Great news for the Jersey Shore: The coastal flooding threat is pretty much over. Tide levels have dropped below flood stage, and all advisories are set to expire Wednesday morning. Weatherwise, we are finally going to see a pleasant day across New Jersey. Scattered clouds in the morning will transition to sunshine and a stiff breeze this afternoon. High temperatures will end up on the mild side, flirting with 70 degrees. Cooler air returns by Wednesday night and Thursday though. Another warming trend will kick off by the upcoming weekend, leading into our next substantial chance of rain Sunday night.

Get our free mobile app

Wednesday NJ weather: Brighter skies, calmer seas

After four days of coastal storm drama, clouds, rain, and tidal flooding, this is a good news forecast.

We are starting Wednesday morning with temperatures in the comfortable 50s. And highs will reach into the upper 60s to around 70 degrees by Wednesday afternoon. That is on the mild side.

The forecast for Wednesday can be broken into three parts, split by a weak cold front that will slide through. Expect scattered clouds in the morning. Then an isolated sprinkle will be possible around lunchtime. (Don't expect much — that front will not have much moisture available.) And then bright sunshine will join a stiff northwesterly breeze through the afternoon.

By Wednesday night, you will start to feel the return of chilly air. It is back to jacket weather, as low temperatures descend to the lower 40s on average across the state. 30s and patchy frost are possible in the coldest corners of the state, mainly to the northwest.

One more important note: Tide levels along the Jersey Shore have fallen below flood stage, which means widespread coastal flooding is over. The lone Coastal Flood Advisory left, for Ocean County, officially expires at 9 a.m.

Thursday NJ weather: Cooling down

Because of the intrusion of a cooler air mass, Thursday will be about 10 degrees cooler than Wednesday.

It will not be wholly unpleasant though — just feeling like fall. Expect beautiful blue, sunny skies. Highs will just get stuck in the upper 50s to around 60 degrees.

Friday NJ weather: Warming up

Once again, Friday morning will be chilly and potentially frosty, in the 30s and 40s. And then highs will end up just below seasonal normals, in the lower 60s. It will be another sunny, dry quiet, and reasonably pleasant October day.

Saturday NJ weather: A much nicer weekend

The warmup continues this weekend, with no major inclement weather to deal with. (During the daytime hours, at least.)

We should see a pleasant mix of sun and clouds on Saturday, with seasonable high temperatures in the mid 60s.

Sunday will get pretty warm, reaching into the lower 70s. Skies will become mostly cloudy ahead of our next storm system, a cold front that will eventually slide in Sunday night.

I think rain holds off until after sunset Sunday evening. And I do not think we are looking at anything too impactful here — just some wet weather, on the order of a quarter-inch to half-inch of rain through Monday.

Behind that front, temperatures will be knocked back again for early next week. Just more typical autumn flip-flopping.

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