Friday NJ Weather: Icy Mix Ends, Flip-flopping Temps This Weekend

The Bottom Line

Across the northern half of New Jersey, you may have to chisel ice off your windshield to start the day. And you may encounter some crunchy, icy, slippery roads too.

Farther south, it's just wet. You'll be dodging puddles instead.

So far, our winter storm has behaved pretty close to forecast. (Aside from a complete lack of snow along the northern edge of NJ — not totally surprising.) About a half-inch of rain. Up to a quarter-inch of ice accumulation.

As of this writing (5:30 a.m.), we have seen precipitation already start to scale back. So the worst of the storm — the heaviest, steadiest precipitation and most precarious travel conditions — is behind us. But Friday morning could still be sloppy and slippery at times, before we dry out and clear out into the afternoon.

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Through the final weekend of February, temperatures will waver back and forth on a daily basis. From cold to seasonable, and back again.

Friday

A Winter Weather Advisory continues for Mercer and Middlesex counties until 10 a.m. That advisory stretches through northern New Jersey, in effect until 1 p.m.

If your commute takes you through any part of that advisory area, don't be caught off-guard by how slippery it is in spots. Bridges, overpasses, and curves will be especially treacherous. The ice is only a morning thing — as temperatures continue to rise, we will thaw out by the afternoon.

Radar has cleared out considerably early Friday morning. But we're not done yet, with more scattered icy mix and rain back to the west. I expect the final piece of precipitation to exit New Jersey around the midday/lunchtime hours. Let's say between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

Then Friday afternoon will feature clearing skies. And a pretty gusty wind too, possibly kicking up to 30 mph. So I have to hesitate in calling it a "nice" afternoon. It will definitely be "nicer" than the morning.

High temperatures should spike into the lower to mid 40s.

Colder air filter in Friday night, leading to bitter cold overnight. Low temps will end up in the lower 20s for most of the state, with teens to the northwest. And, as the northwesterly wind continues to blow, the wind chill ("feels like" or "apparent" temperature) will be in the teens.

Saturday

There will probably be more clouds than sun overhead. And temperatures will be unseasonably chilly, ending up about 10 degrees below normal for late February. We'll only top out in the mid 30s, with calming winds.

Sunday

Sunday will be the warmer and therefore better day of the weekend. Highs push into the 40s, with a stiff breeze. And I'll call skies mostly sunny.

There are two little speed bumps for Sunday too. A light rain shower may clip South Jersey in the morning. And a little snow shower may push into NW NJ in the PM hours. Neither will be a big deal.

Monday

We close out February with one more deep freeze day. Teens in the morning. Only lower 30s in the afternoon. Lots of sunshine. And completely dry. Just cold.

Tuesday & Beyond

You know the saying: March roars in like a lion. It can be a very turbulent month. But for the first few days of the new months, our weather forecast still looks eerily quiet. And, aside from some temperature variance, not very lion-ish.

We'll see 40s on Tuesday, with a few late-day showers possible. If temperatures trend cold enough, we could end up with a coating on the ground in North Jersey.

Wednesday won't be a terrible early March day. Lower-mid 40s, with sunshine until mid-afternoon. It does look breezy though.

On Thursday, a more substantial batch of showers will slide across New Jersey. (At the moment, models favor the morning hours.) Again, precipitation type will depend on exact temperatures. But if we swing snowy, an inch or two of accumulation would be possible.

Our next threat of a substantial winter storm? I don't know. At least ten days away.