The Bottom Line

The nicest day of the week? Wednesday, thanks largely to a drop in humidity levels. Yes, a third of New Jersey is still in drought. (We'll get an update on the Drought Monitor on Thursday.) But we can still celebrate beautiful summer weather!

The hottest day of the week? Either Friday or Saturday, as temperatures shoot above 90 degrees across inland New Jersey. We hit 90 at exactly one weather station in New Jersey on Tuesday — at Liberty Science Center in Jersey City. So another heat wave has begun, lasting 4 or 5 days this time around. Nothing extreme or dangerous — just sweaty 90-degree weather.

As for the wettest, stormiest day of the week? Also Friday and/or Saturday, as the atmosphere cooks. But any storms will be spotty and hit-or-miss — just like every other thunderstorm chance this summer.

Meanwhile, temperatures will remain at or above normal through the rest of August.

Wednesday

Hands down, Wednesday looks great. (As long as you like it warm.)

Thanks to a drop in humidity levels, we are starting the day with temperatures in the 60s. Fairly comfortable. There are some very isolated patches of fog, but nothing that will get in your way for the morning commute.

High temperatures Wednesday afternoon will hit 85 to 90 degrees across most of the state. As a sea breeze kicks in, the Jersey Shore will end up closer to 80.

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Mostly sunny skies, light winds, dry weather. And dew points potentially dipping into the 50s, marking some remarkably dry and comfortable air. Good stuff.

Wednesday night looks good too. Clear skies and upper 60s.

Thursday

Temperatures will be a couple degrees warmer, perhaps. And there could be some extra clouds in the afternoon. Otherwise, it will be a repeat of Wednesday's summer-ish weather.

We'll call Thursday mostly to partly sunny. Highs will reach about 90 degrees. Once again, it will be a few degrees cooler along the coast.

Humidity levels will start to creep upward, especially Thursday night. So you might feel some extra stickiness in the air. Nothing intense or uncomfortable though.

Friday

Our weather will take an unsettled turn for the end of the workweek.

For starters, Friday will be partly sunny, breezy at times (blowing out of the southwest), and hot. High temperatures will again reach about 90 degrees. Depending on the strength of that sea breeze, even mainland beaches could turn steamy on Friday.

As the atmosphere cooks and we tap into a stream of richer moisture, we have to add two rain chances to Friday's forecast too.

A few showers may clip southeastern New Jersey Friday morning.

And then spotty thunderstorms are possible later on, in the afternoon and evening hours. "Spotty" means they'll very much be "hit or miss". So it's fair to call Friday mainly dry. But if the air is moist enough, there could be some spotty downpours.

Saturday

In general, the final weekend of August looks good. But I don't think we have a great handle on Saturday's forecast yet — especially with regard to temperatures.

At the moment, I'm leaning toward lots of sun early Saturday, with fair-weather clouds gradually building in the afternoon. A southeasterly component to the wind direction will hopefully prevent temperatures from running away. My current forecast puts highs around the upper 80s. (Although notably, the GFS model does show another day in the lower 90s.)

Additionally, we will have to watch the sky again starting Saturday afternoon for some popup thunderstorms. Saturday's dynamics and moisture support does not look as great as Friday's. But your outdoor plans may be iffy at times, depending where and when those raindrops appear.

Sunday & Beyond

Sunday looks good, mostly sunny and warm with highs in the mid 80s. I favor a dry weather day.

Clouds will roll in Monday as highs climb back toward 90 degrees.

And then the middle of next week gets interesting, just in time to turn the calendar page from August to September. There is strong evidence among long-range models that a strong cold front will push across New Jersey — most likely in the Wednesday-Thursday time frame. That will lead to some rain. And a burst of really dry air. Cooler air — maybe a touch of autumn is ahead as we barrel toward the Labor Day Weekend?

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