Temperamental weather for NJ: More rain and wind, cool then warm

The Bottom Line

It rained. It poured. It thundered. And the wind blew.

As expected, it was a noisy overnight across New Jersey, as scattered thunderstorms swept through. Top rainfall totals are over an inch in North Jersey. Top wind gusts have been right around 45 mph along the Jersey Shore.

As of this writing (6 a.m.), we have entered a lull in the rain action, with just some widely scattered raindrops around. But the air is still pretty "juicy" — plenty of low-level moisture, a strong low-level jet, and moderately unstable air. So there will be 2 or 3 more pushes of rain over the next 24 hours.

We are not going to dry out completely until sometime Saturday morning. And then the bulk of the weekend will be dry, despite another shower chance Sunday night. Meanwhile, temperatures will transition from mild to cool to warm.

As this article's headline suggests, the weekend outlook is a little helter-skelter. But there are no major alarm bells to ring here — it's just a period of unsettled April weather.

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Friday

The big push of rain is over. Now, we face occasional showers and thunderstorms through the rest of Friday morning and the afternoon. It will be hit-or-miss type stuff going forward, but there could still be some localized downpours and rumbles of thunder.

Model guidance has settled on spurts of rain around midday (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and late afternoon (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.) But that exact timing is far from a guarantee — just a guideline.

Meanwhile, it's cloudy, misty, and drizzly to start the day. I am optimistic we will see some peeks of blue sky through Friday afternoon, especially across the southern half of the state.

it is going to stay relatively windy too, with regular gusts of 30+ mph.

Temperatures will go nowhere fast, hovering in the lower to mid 60s for the duration.

For Friday night, one more round of spotty showers will likely cross New Jersey. Nothing dramatic or severe, just potentially wet. It will be breezy and cool overnight. Temperatures will dip into the mid 40s — our coolest night since early in the week.

Saturday

Saturday is all about improving weather. And cool temperatures.

Rain showers may linger into Saturday morning, possibly as late as Noon. But all signs are pointing to a dry afternoon. A brisk wind will continue to blow, noticeable with regular gusts over 20 mph.

Highs will only reach about the upper 50s Saturday afternoon — a one-day trip below seasonal normals.

Sunday

Sunday looks great. A flip to a southwesterly will fuel a warmup, back to 70 degrees. We should see good sunshine, punctuated by passing clouds.

The one hiccup is another chance for a shower or thunderstorm at the tail-end of the weekend, associated with an approaching cold front. I think the chance of rain will hold off until sunset or later on Sunday. And while the initial hit of thunderstorms could have a bit of a "bite" to it, the band of rain will largely fizzle as it passes from northwest to southeast across the state.

Monday

We fall into quiet, pleasant weather for early next week. Monday looks great, with lots of sunshine, a nice light breeze, and dry weather. High temperatures will settle in the upper 60s.

The Extended Forecast

70s return on Tuesday. Despite increasing clouds, it should be another great spring day.

Wednesday, however, a storm system looks to produce several rounds of showers and thunderstorms. That will keep skies gray and temperatures somewhat cooler.

If all goes well, that will be another one-day snag, and we'll dry out and return to the 70s for the end of next week.

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