Wet week continues with scattered showers and cool temperatures

Damp, dreary, and cool weather will continue for today and tomorrow, but some big changes are in the forecast for the end of the week.

Here are your weather headlines for Wednesday, April 8, 2015...

Showers for Now

After periods of steady rain on Monday, the wet weather will have a somewhat different character today. We’ll actually see periods of dry weather today, particularly across most of the state this morning. By the afternoon, models do show pockets of light to moderate rain returning. But I wouldn’t be surprised if a few spots in New Jersey stay mostly or even totally dry today.

Meanwhile, cool air will be here to visit today and tomorrow. Temperatures really won’t go very far today, with forecast high temperatures from 43° to 47°. (That’s about 15° below normal for early April.) Add in a stiff northeast breeze at 20 mph, thick cloud cover, and the return of drizzle and showers later today, and it will really look and feel like a “blah” day.

Thursday will be very similar to Wednesday, with periods of showers among periods of dryness. Highs will bump up a couple degrees into the upper 40s or so.

In previous blog posts, I’ve mentioned the possibility of frozen precipitation for late tonight through tomorrow morning. Low temperatures tonight will drop to about the 40° mark around North Jersey. The chance for a bit of wintry weather remains very low, but I still can’t completely rule out a bit of freezing rain or sleet in the vicinity of Sussex County. It still doesn’t look like anything significant, and I highly doubt we’ll have any big travel problems tomorrow morning.

Friday Warm Front

By Noon on Friday, we’ll break free of the cool and dreary weather as a warm front pushes northward through New Jersey. That will bump temperatures quickly to about 70+ degrees by Friday afternoon. (Several models are bumping Central and South Jersey into the mid 70s, and I’ve even seen a forecast mentioning the possibility of 80°!) The rainy weather will still be with us on Friday, as rain pushes northward with the warm front passage. Even more importantly, the warm temperatures will likely spur some afternoon convection on Friday. Showers and even thunderstorms - some of which could be on the strong side - could pop up in the 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. time frame on Friday.

Weekend Clearing

All the misery from the clouds and rain this week will be well worth it when the weather finally dries out this weekend. Rain looks to be completely done in New Jersey by Midnight on Friday night, and then skies should clear quickly by daybreak Saturday.

Saturday will be a bit on the breezy side. While temperatures will be a bit cooler than those humid 70s on Friday, highs on Saturday will be seasonable (near normal) in the 57° to 63° range. Partly sunny skies should contribute to a very nice day.

As nice as Saturday will be, I think Sunday will be the overall winner of the weekend... but not by much. Lighter winds, abundant sunshine, and slightly warmer temperatures in the mid 60s will make for a fantastic spring day.

The early peek at next week shows another nice day for Monday, followed by some midweek rain. Regardless of that eventual return of wet weather, temperatures do look to stay warm all next week.