Well, at least it’ll be nice weather while you sit in traffic

Admit it, you could have had it worse.

On the first workday commute since long-term lane closures went into effect on the Route 495 approach to the Lincoln Tunnel (check out our survival guide), there are a few clouds in the sky, but no trace of the rain that washed away much of the weekend in New Jersey. In fact, that may not return until Tuesday night.

Monday clears away to plenty of sunshine by the afternoon, with highs in the mid-70s to lower 80s. Clouds will increase at night, but still everything stays dry, with lows in the 60s except for the Cape May area, where the overnight temperature could approach 70.

Tuesday begins partly cloudy, but there's a slight chance rain could develop late in the day ... and then it's likely that yes, showers will return by Tuesday evening. Daytime highs once again will be in the mid-70s to lower 80s.

The rain looks to be short-lived; after some scattered thunderstorms to begin Wednesday, the sun comes out again, and should remain through the end of the work week. Wednesday's highs will be in the lower to mid-80s.

And so far, the early returns on 495 are somewhat less disastrous than first thought. So it's a win all around to start the week.

Meteorologist Dan Zarrow returns Tuesday, Aug. 21. 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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