Two days of rising temperatures for NJ, then a cold front arrives Friday

Oddly enough, Wednesday will be a cloudier day than Thursday. But it will be about five degrees warmer, as temperatures across New Jersey return to seasonable (near-normal) levels. Despite limited sunshine, it should be a pleasant late March day with dry conditions during the day and highs in the lower to mid 50s. Spotty sprinkles are possible late Wednesday night through Thursday morning. And then Thursday will be the warmest day of the week, as parts of the state flirt with 70 degrees. The one big weathermaker in the forecast is a cold front set to arrive on Friday. That will drive in a round of rain, along with a breezy cooldown. The upcoming last weekend of March is looking sunny but cool overall.

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Wednesday NJ weather: Cloudier but seasonable

As I lamented on Tuesday, it looked like a nice day with plentiful sunshine and blue skies, but temperatures came up about five degrees cooler than normal. For Wednesday, we will flip-flop those conditions: Cloud cover will take over the sky, but temperatures will turn seasonable.

Clouds have been streaming into New Jersey overnight, and we will continue to see partly to mostly cloudy conditions throughout the day. There will be limited peeks of sun along the way, which means you will probably need to wear a jacket both in the morning and the afternoon.

Expect temperatures in the chilly 30s to start the day, then highs around 50 to 55 degrees in the afternoon. A southerly breeze will increase to about 15 mph.

While the daytime hours should remain dry, a weak disturbance will fire up some spotty sprinkles across New Jersey late Wednesday night. Just some damp weather — temperatures will only drop off to the 40s overnight, so it will be wet and not wintry. There could still be some raindrops falling through Thursday morning commute.

Thursday NJ weather: Warmest of the week

Warm air advection peaks on Thursday, with a strong southwesterly breeze. Highs will push well into the 60s, with some 70s possible for inland central and southern New Jersey. (The coast will be considerably cooler, as usual this time of year.)

Expect partly sunny skies and again, dry conditions beyond those morning sprinkles. Thursday should be a nice slice of spring weather.

Friday NJ weather: Cold front day

Friday, on the other hand, will not be a nice weather day. As a cold front slides through New Jersey, it will turn rainy, cloudy, breezy, and cooler.

The first change will be wet weather. A wave of scattered rain will slide from northwest to southeast during the daytime hours Friday. It looks like the wettest part of the day will be the morning, although lingering showers will still be working through southern and coastal NJ in the afternoon too. Heavy rainfall and severe weather seem unlikely, although some rainfall totals could exceed a half-inch if a pocket of rain really gets going.

Meanwhile, as a result of the rain and cooler air arriving, temperatures will tumble from an early morning high around 60 degrees to the lower-mid 40s by late Friday afternoon. A stark difference from Wednesday and Thursday's warmth, for sure.

Saturday NJ weather: Sunny but cool

The end result of Friday's frontal passage will be a return to the cool side for the final weekend of March.

Saturday will be a blustery day — breezy and cool — although bright and sunny. High temperatures will settle back into the 40s. Not very springlike.

Sunday will be better, with lighter winds and slightly warmer temperatures. The current forecast puts highs around 50 degrees, which is still below normal for this time of year.

Don't worry though — the warmup will continue into next week, with long-range models showing 60s and 70s back in play for the final days of March. If everything lines up perfectly, we could even touch the summerlike 80s for a day or two before our next cooldown.

There could be some sporadic shower chances next week, but there are no major "super soaker" or wintry storm systems on the horizon.

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