NJ weather: One more nice day, weekend rain timeline

The Bottom Line

It has been an amazing week of weather. And we will squeeze out one more reasonably pleasant day Friday. Although there will be some changes, as clouds return to the sky and a few sprinkles are thrown toward the Jersey Shore.

Saturday is the one and only unsettled day of the week, with one or two spurts of rain in the forecast.

And then we will flip right back to pleasant, dry, warming weather for all of next week. Don't winterize that air conditioner yet, as we will be back in the 80s very soon.

Friday

There are two little wrinkles in Friday's forecast. But I don't think either will prevent us from enjoying one more nice day.

First, a coastal storm spinning over the ocean once again raises a high risk of dangerous rip currents along the Jersey Shore.

Second, that same system is spitting out some spotty light showers — which I like to call sprinkles. Best chance of misty sprinkles will be along the coast Friday morning.

Otherwise, looking good. We'll see sunshine with a thin blanket of clouds overhead. Humidity levels will be moderate, and winds will be light.

Morning temps are warmer than the past few mornings, mainly in the 60s. Afternoon highs will reach about 75 to 80 degrees. The cool spot in the state will probably be the coast, with a gentle on-shore breeze.

Friday nice stays trouble-free. Under partly cloudy skies, temperatures will once again dip into the comfortable lower 60s.

Saturday

A cold front will interact with a coastal storm system, producing widespread rain across the Garden State. Everyone in the state will probably get wet Saturday — but again, it will not be an all-day affair. Let's carefully run through Saturday's timeline.

There is a good chance for some shower activity around Saturday morning. Having said that, you might eke out dry weather for the first few hours of the day through midday.

The better chance of rain will develop around Saturday mid-afternoon, sweeping from west to east across the state into the early evening time frame. (If I had to guess, around 4 to 5 p.m. looks to be the wettest part of the day.)

Downpours are unlikely. Severe weather is unlikely. There could be some thunder and lightning, which could endanger outdoor events for a little bit.

Rainfall totals will likely end up around a quarter-inch for most. (We really could use some rain, with a third of NJ now classified as "abnormally dry" again.) I could see isolated spots surpassing a half-inch of rain if a particularly heavy shower gets stuck somewhere.

Otherwise, Saturday will be mostly cloudy, breezy, and fairly humid. High temperatures will once again reach the 70s.

By late Saturday evening, that cold front will usher in cooler, drier air, putting an end to all rain activity. Temperatures will nosedive overnight, coming close to 50 degrees again by Sunday morning.

Sunday

Behind the front, we get a little taste of October-ish weather for the second half of the weekend.

By the time you wake up Sunday morning, skies should be clear. And we'll see abundant sunshine right through Sunday afternoon.

High temperatures will only reach about 70 degrees — that is more than 10 degrees cooler than normal for this time of year. The air will be very dry, with a refreshing breeze.

Monday & Beyond

Monday will mark the start of another spectacular week of dry, sunny, pleasant weather. Although this streak will be warmer than the last one.

Monday's high temperatures will reach into the upper 70s.

And then 80s return for Tuesday and beyond. Humidity will stay pretty low, especially as this warm wave begins.

Forecast models suggest our next opportunity for rain could come next weekend. Although that is highly dependent on how the tropics shape up in the coming days. The National Hurricane Center is currently watching three tropical waves in the Atlantic basin. Remember, we are approaching the climatological peak of hurricane season next week.