NJ weather: Unseasonably cold for the rest of the week
March? Ha! Spring is only 15 days away? Ha! Even in the middle of winter, the forecast for this week would be frigid.
New Jersey's normal high temperatures for early March are in the upper 40s, with normal lows near 30 degrees. We're going to hover about 15 degrees below that for the next 2 or 3 days. Part of the state will be stuck below freezing for that entire time period as well. Bundle up!
Temperatures on this Tuesday morning are well below freezing, mainly around the 20 degree mark. That's a hard enough freeze that any puddles (from Monday's snow melt) have frozen over. There may be some slippery spots on your driveway, sidewalk, etc. — watch your step!
High temps for Tuesday afternoon will be limited to the lower 30s. We'll see lots of sunshine, and our current air mass is very dry. A westerly breeze will kick up this afternoon, adding an extra little bite to the chill.
The high-res HRRR model shows a little snow squall popping over southern NJ Tuesday evening. There's not much to support anything substantial, especially with our very dry air mass firmly in place. However, the HRRR is sometimes scary accurate about these things — so I opted to put a few flurries in the forecast. No big thing.
Tuesday night actually looks to be the coldest night in almost a month for most of the state. Lows dip into the upper teens for most. Of course, any little breeze will push that dreaded wind chill (the "feels like" temperature) into the upper teens.
I'm thinking Wednesday will be the coldest day of the week, with highs only in the upper 20s to around 30 degrees. It's going to be breezy too, with winds up to 20 mph. I'm really not a fan of such a late-season chill.
Thursday also looks dry and unseasonably chilly, with highs in the lower to mid 30s. (Oh! Above freezing for some!) Clouds will increase late-day Thursday.
Our next storm system is expected to arrive Friday afternoon. The storm track and structure are not going to be conducive to a big, bad winter storm. But there could be some snow at onset, before changing over to mostly rain by Friday night. We could see accumulations on the order of a coating to an inch across central and northern New Jersey. Those numbers aren't a big concern. Although we'll have to watch the timing here — falling snow during the Friday evening rush hour could lead to marginally slushy road conditions and reduced visibility.
As showers wrap up Saturday morning, we'll finally warm up a bit. Seasonable 40s on Saturday will accompany partly sunny skies — not too bad.
New Jersey's next next storm system is forecast to arrive on Sunday. With above-normal temperatures in the mid to upper 50s, this one looks like rain, rain, rain.