NJ weekend weather: From warm to cool, strong thunderstorms possible

Thursday night's rain — where it actually fell — was wonderful. Total rainfall ranged from nothing along the coast to over two inches in northwestern New Jersey. Now we look ahead to some very warm, humid weather heading into the weekend. A real taste of summer, high temperatures will soar into the 80s Friday with lots of sunshine. Saturday could flirt with 90 degrees in spots. The big thing to watch this weekend will be a round of scattered thunderstorms starting Saturday afternoon. Downpours, gusty winds, and dangerous lightning could interfere with outdoor plans. Cooler, drier, refreshing air returns to New Jersey on Sunday.

Get our free mobile app

Friday NJ weather: Feeling like summer

Thursday evening's rain was caused by a weak cold front that washed out over New Jersey. The net effect to temperatures will be negligible — the new air mass is just like the old one. So we still have two more days of warm, summery weather ahead.

In addition, humidity has ticked up a notch. That is the driver behind New Jersey's warmest morning in more than a week and a half. Temps are in the 60s to start Friday morning, rather than the 50s. We have some patchy fog and low clouds early on.

Expect mostly sunny skies and an occasional breeze throughout Friday. Highs will reach into the mid 80s — typical mid-summer weather.

Even though the warm and humid atmosphere would support a thunderstorm, there is no lift or "spark" to initiate storms. The chance of a popup storm is not zero, but it is low.

Friday night will stay clear. But it really will not be that cool. Lows will only drop to around the 70-degree mark.

Saturday NJ weather: Steamy then stormy

The first half of Saturday will be fine. But eyes on the sky through the afternoon, as widespread thunderstorms hopefully give us a much-needed soaking. (15 percent of New Jersey is now classified as being in "Moderate Drought".)

The timing of increasing clouds and eventual rain will have an impact on temperatures. I think for most of the state, especially central and southern New Jersey, Saturday will end up being our warmest day in about three weeks. High temperatures will average mid 80s — although realistically, I can not rule out a 90-degree reading somewhere in NJ.

Starting early afternoon, initial thunderstorms will likely develop over northwestern New Jersey.

By mid to late afternoon, scattered showers and thunderstorms will probably spread throughout the state, putting an abrupt end to outdoor activities.

Additional rounds of rain will continue pushing through New Jersey Friday evening. It will generally be a wet and stormy night.

Given the summer-ish heat and humidity, any storms that visit will likely be on the strong side. Downpours, gusty winds, and dangerous lightning are all on the table. We could see a solid inch-plus soaking here, which would be great — as long as it doesn't come all at once, causing ponding and flooding issues.

Sunday NJ weather: Refreshing air returns

A shower chance will linger through about mid-morning Sunday. And then skies will clear, as cooler and drier air returns to New Jersey.

Highs on Sunday will be about 10 degrees cooler, limited to the mid 70s. Along with a marked decrease in humidity levels, Sunday is going to feel downright refreshing.

Monday NJ weather: More comfortable weather

HIgh temperatures for next week are mainly forecast to reach the 70s, as we return to a quiet, pleasant weather pattern. The general "feel" for each day will be dictated by the wind direction — there are hints of a prominent on-shore breeze developing midweek, which would make for a cloudy and cool day or two.

Next chance of much-needed rain would not be until the end of next week, at the earliest. While this week's double shot of rain will certainly help to stave off spiralling drought and wildfire concerns for a little bit, we need a lot more to be in truly good shape. Especially with the dry winter months coming up.

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