Drier, Sunnier, Warmer Days Ahead for New Jersey

While a few showers are possible Wednesday afternoon, New Jersey will enjoy a streak of pleasant weather through the end of the workweek.

Here are your weather headlines for Wednesday, August 12, 2015...

Clearer & Drier

Yesterday's rain has come to an end, and skies have cleared significantly overnight. Rainfall totals across New Jersey on Tuesday ranged from 0.49" at Atlantic City Marina to 1.81" at Berkeley Twp. - so everyone in the state saw a beneficial, soaking rain. We are, however, still behind normal for the month of August so far.

Your Wednesday is beginning with some patchy fog, and plenty of sunshine through the middle of the day. This afternoon, as temperatures climb into the 80s, some fair-weather cumulus clouds are expected to pop-up. There's only one hiccup that might get in the way of this being a "nice" day: those clouds may open up to produce some widely scattered showers or sprinkles this afternoon. Nothing heavy, nothing long-lasting... although don't be surprised if you hear a few rumbles of thunder today too.

Mostly sunny, pleasant, and dry weather will take over for Thursday and Friday (during the daytime hours).

Heating Up Again

Starting on Friday, temperatures will start bumping up again, into the mid to upper 80s. In fact, as early as Saturday, we could be talking about some scattered 90s returning to the forecast. (It is still summer, after all!)

Additionally, humidity looks to creep upwards on Saturday and especially Sunday. Some spots could meet "heat wave" criteria with 3+ consecutive days of 90+ degree temperatures by early next week. (Our forecast for Newark Airport from Saturday through Tuesday just barely hits that mark.)

At this time, no "extreme" heat beyond the lower 90s is in the forecast through the middle of next week. Regardless, this warmup will certainly be noticeable, especially as it gets muggy again by the end of the weekend.

Next Rain Chance

I already mentioned the chance for a few showers or sprinkles this afternoon through early evening. Aside from that, we'll enjoy dry weather through Friday afternoon.

However, the precipitation forecast from Friday night through early next week gets a bit muddled, a bit uncertain, and potentially unsettled. For several runs now, the GFS model has put light precipitation over New Jersey for Friday night, Saturday evening, and Sunday evening. The rain chances have been unorganized and light at best, and mostly looks to stay away from the daytime hours this weekend.

I'm actually leaning toward a mostly dry forecast overall for the weekend. But I'm erring on the side of caution by mentioning shower chances in our official forecast for now. Let's keep an eye on it as the weekend gets a little closer.