NJ weather: Wet Friday, dry Saturday, wet Sunday, dry Monday

The Bottom Line

Friday is a bagful of yuck. It is already wet across New Jersey, thanks to a batch of steady rain that rolled through overnight. And, just like last Sunday, we will be stuck under rain and drizzle and thick clouds all day. Temperatures will stay miserably cool, barely reaching 50 degrees. We really will not dry out and clear out until late Friday evening.

Saturday will be better and brighter, although temperatures stay on the cool side of normal.

Mother's Day Sunday turns wet and cool again. Blah again.

And then the sun comes out just in time for back-to-work and back-to-school Monday, warming temperatures back to 70 degrees. Perfect timing, Mother Nature.

Get our free mobile app

Friday

It is not going to pour. And it is not going to storm. But Friday will be a dismal, damp, and dreary day overall. Grab the jacket and the umbrella.

We will see periodic light rain, drizzle, and mist through the morning, afternoon, and early evening hours. Total rainfall for the day could top three-quarters of an inch — healthy, but not heavy.

The raindrops, overcast skies, and a bit of a northeast breeze will prevent temperatures from budging at all. We are starting the day near 50 degrees and Friday afternoon will also be around 50 degrees.

Showers should exit New Jersey for good Friday evening. And then I think our weather turns substantially drier and clearer after about Midnight. It is going to be our coolest night in about two weeks, as low temperatures dip into the mid 40s. (No danger of a frost or freeze though.)

Saturday

The first half of your week looks pretty good, as we dry out again.

Skies on Saturday will average partly sunny, and we will stay dry throughout the daytime hours.

The only problem with Saturday is the temperature. Highs will reach about 60 degrees. An improvement compared to Friday. But that is about 10 degrees below normal for early May.

If you're going to the big

Sunday

Moms of New Jersey, Mother Nature has an extra special gift for you this Mother's Day — more rain, clouds, and cool temperatures. Yay.

This compact, stagnant storm system will probably drive rain into New Jersey late Saturday night, and then Sunday morning looks pretty wet.

The big question is when rain exits on Sunday, and whether we can salvage a piece of the day. I have set the timing of final raindrops around the early afternoon hours. So it's possible that we get some peeks of sun before it sets.

High temperatures on Sunday will be very much on the cool side again, only reaching the mid 50s or so.

Monday

For the third week in a row, the start of the new workweek will bring a marked improvement in our weather.

Franklin, Monday looks like a beautiful May day. Expect partly to mostly sunny skies, a light southwest breeze, and seasonable high temperatures around 70 degrees.

Tuesday & Beyond

The third storm system in this sequence will be the most impactful of the bunch, set to arrive in New Jersey Tuesday morning. This area of low pressure will pass right on top of us, and the ingredients are coming together to potentially produce 1.) pockets of heavy rain, and/or 2.) gusty thunderstorms.

Between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, rainfall totals may top an inch. That is usually my threshold for ringing flooding alarm bells. Especially given our saturated ground from other recent rains.

We should dry out Wednesday into Thursday. For the duration, temperatures will be close to seasonal expectations, ranging from the 60s to the 70s on any given day next week.

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