12:10 p.m. - SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING issued for Camden, Cumberland, Atlantic, southeastern Mercer, southwestern Monmouth, northerwestern Ocean, southeastern Salem and north central Cape  May counties.until 1 p.m. for a line of storms with 60 MPH wind gusts. frequent lightning and large hail.


11:37 a.m. -
The National Weather Service has issued a SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING for Mercer, Hunterdon, Somerset, Camden, Gloucester, north central Salem, northwestern Burlington and western Middlesex counties until 12:15 p.m. for a line of storms with 60 MPH wind gusts. frequent lightning and large hail.

A cooler, drier air mass will dominate New Jersey's atmosphere through the end of the workweek - although dry air does not mean we stay rain-free Wednesday.

Thermometers across New Jersey peaked in the upper 80s on Tuesday, before a cold front and a round of noisy thunderstorms ushered in a cooler and drier air mass. You'll feel the change Wednesday morning! Comfortably cool morning temperatures in the 50s will only rise into the upper 60s to lower 70s by Wednesday afternoon. That's about 10 degrees below normal for early June.

The day will be bookended by sunshine in the morning and the early evening. But in the middle? More thunderstorms.

A shortwave will dive through New Jersey with a chance of rain between Wednesday late morning and mid-afternoon - call it 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. With marginal instability building in our atmosphere (especially after Noon and especially in South Jersey), rumbles of thunder and stronger storm cells will be possible. As is typical of thunderstorms this time of year, pockets of heavy rain, gusty winds, and small hail are on the table. Widespread severe weather is not anticipated.

By Wednesday evening, any thunderstorms will have moved off-shore and skies will clear quickly.

The combination of clear skies, calm winds, and the dry air mass will allow temperatures to drop pretty far Wednesday night. Forecast lows are in the upper 40s to lower 50s. Record lows are in the mid 40s right now - it'll be close! While you may need a jacket for early Thursday morning, I don't think we'll see temperatures in the 30s. So frost is not a concern.

Aside from an occasionally gusty west-northwest wind (up to 40 mph), Thursday looks like a pretty pleasant spring day. Highs will be in the mid 70s, just a hair below normal. And we'll enjoy abundant sun and dry weather.

Friday looks even better than Thursday, as the wind dies down and temperatures warm slightly. High temperatures should rise into the upper 70s to close out the workweek. Again, we'll be savoring the sunshine.

Unfortunately, it looks like the Garden State is not going to escape the upcoming weekend with a rain-free forecast as another storm system approaches. The exact timing of this system's rain impacts have changed with every model run over the past few days - so I'm not prepared to issue a pinpoint forecast yet.

The best timing for wet weather at this time is from Saturday afternoon to Saturday evening, with lingering showers possible Sunday as well. I know, not the ideal forecast. Especially since, even if it's not raining in parts of the state, skies could remain mostly cloudy to overcast for much of Saturday.

At least temperatures will remain comfortably warm for the weekend, with highs generally in the lower 80s on Saturday and the mid to upper 70s on Sunday.

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

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