Hope springs eternal, and for the powerful New York Yankees, the revamped Philadelphia Phillies, and the ya-gotta-believe New York Mets, that rings as true as ever on Opening Day — the one day of the baseball season when everyone is in first place.

Yes, the 2019 MLB season technically started last week with two games, that counted, played between the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics in Japan. But for our three local teams beginning the season stateside, it doesn't look like weather will interrupt any gameplay on this Thursday.

In New Jersey, clouds will increase throughout the day, with a stiff southerly breeze and highs in the lower to mid-50s. For the Yankees, opening the season in the Bronx at 1 p.m., and the Phillies, who have first pitch in South Philadelphia at 3, the prediction of a breeze could be instructive: Both are heavy-hitting teams, and if the wind is blowing in, perhaps the likes of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton, Rhys Hoskins, and Bryce Harper will not be able to show off their home run power.

(The Mets, who'll be facing the Washington Nationals in our nation's capital at 1:00, have an even better forecast. The National Weather Service says D.C. will have just some clouds and a light wind Thursday afternoon, with highs potentially reaching the mid-60s.)

Looking ahead to Thursday night in New Jersey, skies will remain mostly cloudy, with overnight lows just in the 40s.

Friday begins a quick springtime warmup in the Garden State, with mostly cloudy skies, a few showers and sprinkles possible, and highs in the lower 60s. Then on Saturday, it will be cloudy, but highs may approach 70 ... before a rainy cooldown on Sunday.

Whether you're going to the games, watching on TV, or don't care about baseball and are simply looking forward to some warmer days, your weather outlook is looking good heading into this weekend.

Patrick Lavery is Senior Producer of Morning News and Special Programming for New Jersey 101.5, and is lead reporter and substitute anchor for "New Jersey's First News."

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