Yes, our weather pattern remains active through the first week of the year. However, it's been a while since I've been able to call days truly mild and/or pleasant — and I'm actually seeing a few of those potentially delightful days in the forecast!

As expected, Thursday early morning's storm system was a dud. There were some showers and sprinkles around, with the heaviest stuff around far South Jersey. I suspect there could have been some freezing drizzle or snowflakes in colder NW NJ. In general, roads are damp, but not overly slippery for the morning commute.

The rest of Thursday looks pretty nice. We'll see partial sunshine by Thursday afternoon, especially across the northern half of the state. Expect a bit of a breeze up to about 20 mph too. High temperatures should reach the upper 40s to around 50 degrees — almost 10 degrees above normal for early January. Not too shabby!

Thursday night looks quiet and uneventful. With a few clouds overhead, thermometers will dip to about the 30-degree mark. (If skies remain mostly cloudy, that "atmospheric blanket" will keep things a bit warmer.)

We'll return to the mild side on Friday, with highs again near 50 degrees. Skies will become mostly cloudy again, but we'll stay dry during the daytime hours.

Our next storm system is expected to arrive Friday night into Saturday. And for the umpteenth time over the past month or two, this one is going to be all wet, not wintry. (Morning lows in the upper 30s, afternoon highs in the mid to upper 40s.) Initial raindrops may arrive as early as 10 p.m. Friday. The end time has wiggled earlier, with rainfall potentially wrapping up by around 5 p.m. Saturday.

I think it's fair to call this rain steady at times, but not really heavy. With expected totals on the order of a half-inch to an inch, we'll hopefully avoid any significant flooding or travel issues.

Sunday will clearly be the drier and more pleasant day of the weekend. Under a mix of sun and clouds, high temps should bounce back to the lower 50s. I'm still really liking this forecast — great day to get outside for a bit (with a jacket, of course) and perhaps finally take down those Christmas decorations.

Temperatures cool on Monday, but it's only temporary. Our next storm system on Tuesday looks to carry a batch of warm air and rain into New Jersey.

Finally, we remain on "arctic blast watch". Before we get another significant snow threat, there needs to be a fairly significant lasting cooldown. That looks to be about 10 to 14 days away. Be patient — you know the cold and snow are coming... eventually.

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