New Jersey Warming Up Wednesday – Will We Hit 70?

This early Spring warming trend will peak on Wednesday and Thursday with widespread temperatures near the 70-degree mark, before a chance of rain and cooler air enters the forecast.

Here are your weather headlines for Wednesday, March 23, 2016...

Getting Warmer

Can you believe it snowed just two days ago? Tuesday's high temperatures reached the 50s across New Jersey. And even warmer air is expected for Wednesday, Thursday, and possibly Friday. 60s will be a sure bet for most of the state, and we might even see widespread 70s!

Fueled by a stiff southwesterly breeze and warming temperatures throughout the atmosphere, Wednesday's high temperatures will bump into the upper 60s to around 70 degrees across the Garden State. The best chance for a 70-degree reading will be in interior South Jersey. As usual, the Jersey Shore will likely end up a bit cooler. Skies will range from mostly sunny to partly sunny, with most of the heaviest cloud cover in North Jersey on Wednesday morning.

Some clouds and rising humidity levels will prevent temperatures from falling much overnight. By Thursday morning, low temperatures will only have fallen to the mid 40s. (Seasonal normals are in the mid 30s.) That's probably just cold enough to need a jacket for the ride to work/school.

Thursday's high temperatures will reach around 70 degrees for almost everyone in New Jersey. The noticeable exceptions will be the northern part of the state and along the coast, as temperatures are limited to around 60 degrees. Still a very pleasant day, featuring partly sunny skies and breezy conditions once again.

Friday Cold Front

Just after midnight Friday morning, an approaching cold front looks to fire off some light rain in the direction of New Jersey. Key words here: "light" and "rain" - nothing frozen, and nothing heavy to worry about. And it looks like any overnight rain will taper off by around sunrise on Friday.

High temperatures on Friday are currently forecast to reach the upper 60s to lower 70s one more time, before thermometers take a tumble through the afternoon and evening hours. Wind gusts over 30 mph will be possible on Friday too, as the new cooler air arrives.

Holiday Weekend

Yes, the ultimate effect of Friday's cold front will be a cooldown for the upcoming holiday weekend. But we won't get all that chilly, as temperatures simply return to seasonable (near-normal) levels for Saturday, before rising again into early next week.

Our current forecast for Saturday puts high temperatures in the mid to possibly upper 50s, with lots of sun and light winds. Despite the day being "cooler" than previous days, it looks like a gorgeous Spring day!

Easter Sunday looks quite nice as well, with highs bumping into the lower 60s. The day will begin with mostly sunny skies, although clouds will increase by late afternoon.

Our next storm system should hold off until Monday night into Tuesday - today's models pushed the timing later than yesterday's analysis. Still plenty of time for this system to evolve, but it still looks to bring rain and not snow to New Jersey.