Goodbye ‘blah’ weather: Warmer, drier days ahead for NJ

New Jersey faces one more day of unsettled "blah" weather — and then the warmup is on! Expect fog and areas of drizzle throughout Tuesday morning, especially to the north. Tuesday afternoon will trend drier with possible peeks of sun, especially to the south. Highs will progress from the 70s Tuesday to 80s Wednesday, with another round of PM showers and thunderstorms. Thursday will be steamy and stormy, with highs near 90 and then strong late-day thunderstorms. Friday looks like the nicest day of the week — a beautiful first day of summer

Tuesday NJ weather: Still cloudy and drizzly

I can not tell you how sick I am of this unsettled, dreary, "blah" weather at this point. And it's not really the persistent rain and drizzle. It's the overcast skies and the cooler temperatures that are giving me Spring fever. My wife even yelled at me yesterday because she had to wear a jacket in mid-June.

One more day of this yucky weather. As of this writing (7 a.m.), we have widespread fog and a few areas of drizzle around New Jersey. Temperatures are in the lower 60s — which would usually be pretty comfortable, but there is a bit of humidity adding some stickiness to the air.

Our weather should trend drier through Tuesday afternoon, although clouds will continue to win the sky. There is a good chance for some peeks of sun by late afternoon, especially the farther south and west you go in NJ.

Temperatures will be warmer than Monday, but still holding before normal for this time of year. We should average lower 70s Tuesday afternoon. Cooler 60s to the north (cloudier and wetter) and along the coast (on-shore breeze). Inland South Jersey will probably reach the mid 70s.

Our next batch of widespread rain arrives Tuesday night, as a warm front nudges north. Nothing crazy here — just some wet weather. Overnight low temperatures will only dip a few degrees, into the upper 60s or so.

Wednesday NJ weather: Brighter and warmer

Here comes the warmup many New Jerseyans have been craving. However, we still have two more unsettled weather days to go.

I will call Wednesday partly sunny. Thanks to a brighter sky, a more southerly wind, and a warmer air mass, temperatures will warm up considerably. Most of the state should end up in the 80s Wednesday afternoon. (Lower 80s north, upper 80s southwest.)

Watch for a brief round of showers and thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon, between about 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. Not everyone in New Jersey will necessarily see a storm here. But given the heat (energy) and humidity (moisture) in the atmosphere, any storms that form could be on the strong side.

Thursday NJ weather: Steamy and stormy

You wanted a taste of real summer weather? Here you go.

Highs on Thursday will reach about 90 degrees. I could see inland areas going to 93+. Add in humidity, and the heat index (the "feels like" or "apparent" temperature) could approach the triple-digit mark — that is about the threshold to start calling it "dangerous" heat.

So Thursday will be a steamy day, with mostly sunny skies.

And this entire series of unsettled weather events will conclude with a cold front sparking a line of strong thunderstorms late-day Thursday. As it stands now, I do not want to pinpoint timing further than afternoon and evening. But given the threat of gusty winds, downpours, small hail, and dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning, you should keep your Thursday outdoor plans as flexible as possible.

Friday NJ weather: A beautiful start to summer

I will say it right here: Friday may be one of the nicest days of the entire year. Mother Nature is really flipping the switch here. Perfect timing for the first day of summer — the solstice officially arrives at 10:41 p.m. EDT.

Friday's forecast calls for mostly sunny skies, dry weather, breezy conditions, and seasonably warm temperatures. Highs around 80 to 85 degrees will be nice and warm, especially with a relatively low dip in humidity levels.

Saturday NJ weather: The heat is on

Saturday looks good too, although a few extra clouds will come into play along with some hotter air. Highs may touch 90 degrees.

New Jersey will trend quite hot next week, with near 90-degree temperatures away from the coast on Sunday. That will be followed by widespread 90s for Monday and beyond, likely forming NJ's first heat wave of the season.

Some forecast models even show some triple-digit temperatures around the state starting Monday. That means within the span of a week, we may go from highs in the 60s to highs in the 100s — Mother Nature, you crazy!