A couple days of wintry chill, then NJ warms up as Spring begins

Some wicked storms rolled through New Jersey Monday night, with some very strong winds. I have seen numerous reports of downed trees and wires, as gusts reached as high as 71 mph (Newark Airport). Storms have since exited the state, although it remains windy and blustery Tuesday morning. Colder air has returned now too, and we descend back into "dead of winter" type temperatures for a couple days. We'll only see temperatures around 40 degrees Tuesday afternoon, with mixed sun and clouds and maybe a snow shower or squall at some point. It will stay windy throughout the day. Wednesday looks chilly too, with highs only in the upper 30s. And then temperatures will moderate, into the 40s on Thursday and the 50s for the first day of Spring on Friday. It will be a mainly dry week, with only sporadic chances for a spot shower.

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Tuesday NJ weather: Windy and unseasonably cold

Tuesday morning temperatures are in the 30s. And wind gusts are occasionally in the 30s (mph) too. Not nearly as fierce as Monday's storm-driven wind gusts, but still very much noticeable. And this time, it is a chilly, bitter breeze.

Weather in a word for your St. Patrick's Day: Blustery. That combination of wind and cold we know oh so well. Afternoon temperatures will struggle to reach much past 40 degrees — akin to a typical middle-of-winter kind of day. Wind gusts will touch 30 mph through the morning, calming somewhat to about 20 mph (breezy) through the afternoon.

We will get breaks of sun for the first half of the day, with clouds filling in later on. A few snow showers and snow squalls are possible later on too. That will not necessarily pose an accumulation concern, but possibly could lower visibility if a squall really gets going.

Tuesday night, the wind should calm down as skies turn mainly clear. If temperatures really crash overnight, we could see widespread mid 20s around the state. While it is not unusual to see freezing temperatures at this point of the season, that is again quite cold for mid-March.

Wednesday NJ weather: Still chilly

Wednesday will be the bottom of the barrel, as highs only reach the upper 30s. At least the wind will be lighter. Expect a mix of sun and clouds, and probably dry weather throughout the day. Just a quite "bundle up" day.

Thursday NJ weather: Getting better

By Thursday — the last full day of winter — we will start to tap into some warmer air, thanks to a wind shift, and temperatures will start to moderate. It will be about 10 degrees warmer than Wednesday, as highs push into the upper 40s. Still slightly below normal for this time of year. But definitely better.

Thursday looks mostly to partly sunny. A rain or snow shower may clip northern New Jersey late-day.

Friday NJ weather: Welcome to spring!

We will officially spring into spring as the Vernal Equinox arrives this Friday at 10:46 a.m. EDT. And the warming trend will continue, with highs reaching the seasonable lower to mid 50s.

We will probably see more clouds than sun on Friday, but I am maintaining a dry forecast for now.

The weekend warms up even more, with 50s on Saturday and 60s on Sunday. Each day could feature a few rain showers. Especially Sunday, with the late-day arrival of a strong cold front. Not only could that push some thunderstorms into New Jersey, it will likely spark another blustery cooldown into early next week.

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