Generous sunshine will warm thermometers to almost 80° for most of New Jersey on Wednesday, as rough surf and drought concerns continue.

Here are your weather headlines for Wednesday, September 23, 2015...

Sunny, Mild Start to Autumn

Fall officially "fell" early this morning, and we're kicking off the new season with some pleasant weather.

After a few days of cloudy, cool weather, our atmosphere will finally see fit to bring back sunshine to New Jersey today. That sun will do wonders for our temperatures, which will bump into the 75° to 80° range today - that's about 10 degrees warmer than yesterday for some spots, and about 5 degrees above normal for late September here in the Garden State.

A brisk northeast wind will continue today (and for the rest of the week), especially along the Jersey Shore. Inland winds will peak around 15 mph, while the coast will likely see wind gusts over 20 mph again. The ocean remains angry, with a high risk for rip currents and rough surf continuing.

Dry, Quiet Weather Continues

Clouds will slowly return on Thursday and especially Friday, but our weather will stay generally nice. Skies will average partly sunny for Thursday, with high temperatures at or above normal in the mid to upper 70s. Friday's clouds will continue to thicken throughout the day, and the wind will be brisk. We will close out the workweek with highs holding in the mid 70s.

Blah Weekend

A storm system parked off the Carolina coast is causing much consternation for meteorologists. There is slightly better model agreement this morning that this system will unhinge itself this weekend, and there is the potential for weather impacts in New Jersey.

First and foremost, skies will become mostly cloudy to overcast on Saturday. The northeast wind will increase to 20+ mph inland and 25+ mph along the coast. These two changes will combine for cooler temperatures, with highs limited to the lower 70s at best on Saturday.

Starting late Saturday, that aforementioned storm system comes close enough to add a chance for rain to our forecast. The shower chances will continue through the day on Sunday too. For now, rain intensity should only be light to moderate, and the vast majority of the rain will stay south of I-195. (This is NOT the drought-busting rain we need across almost the entire state.) Even for those who don't feel the raindrops on Sunday, a fierce northeast wind gusting over 25 mph and thick clouds will make for quite the "blah" day... Especially as high temperatures barely make to the 70-degree mark. Jacket weather for the first weekend of fall?

Skies look to clear early next week, and temperatures will warm as a result. No big rain in the forecast for the foreseeable future.

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

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