Thursday NJ Weather: Waves of Spotty Showers, Rising Humidity

The Bottom Line

We have enjoyed some really nice weather lately, brought to you by sunshine and low humidity. It is time for a change, as New Jersey's weather pattern turns unsettled for a period of 48 hours. That means rain and clouds and humidity — a bunch of "blah".

While Thursday will see several waves of spotty showers across the daytime hours, rain chances for Friday will increase further. However, neither day will be a washout.

I am happy to report that rain chances for the weekend have gone down. Not quite zero, as we will have a secondary cold front in play on Saturday. But don't go canceling any plans — the bulk of the weekend is looking dry and pleasant.

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Thursday

As of this writing (6:30 a.m.), a few showers have crept into northern and western New Jersey. And this is pretty much the story of the day — several waves of showers will pass through the state. Nothing heavy, nothing crazy. Just damp and dreary.

Skies will remain pretty cloudy. Humidity ramps up a bit, on a stiff southeasterly breeze.

Because of that unsettled combination, temperatures are going nowhere Thursday. Upper 60s in the morning. Lower 70s (at best) in the afternoon. Back down to the upper 60s at night. This is likely to be our coolest day in just over two months.

So not a great day. But, needless to say, not a great beach day.

Friday

The best chance for a pocket of steady to heavy rain will be Friday morning, from just before daybreak to around lunchtime. This is a case where different computer model forecasts give a slightly different solution, so the exact timing and impacts are tricky. But the first half of the day does look wet, with up to an inch of total rainfall if it really pours.

Then we will see peeks of sun into Friday afternoon. It's going to be a steamy "sauna" day, with high humidity and seasonably warm high temperatures in the lower 80s.

One more round of scattered thunderstorms is possible between Friday late afternoon and early evening as a cold front swings in.

Saturday

Technically, we will be in a cooler, drier air mass on Saturday. But it will still feel sticky. And high temperatures will still shoot into the 80s.

As a secondary cold front pushes in late-day Saturday, we could see a few showers or thunderstorms spark. But the overall lower humidity is important here, helping to diminish the spread and intensity of any rain. The end result: Only a slight chance of a shower, and a mainly dry day for NJ.

So, as long as you can avoid those raindrops? Partly sunny, breezy, and 80s — sounds like a nice late summer day.

Sunday

Sunday is practically guaranteed to be the nicer day of the weekend. Especially as humidity will be zapped from our atmosphere once again, leading to bright skies and comfortable air.

We should see plenty of sunshine on Sunday. Morning low temperatures may dip into the 50s. (If the air dries out sufficiently in time.) Afternoon highs will reach about 80. Good stuff.

The Extended Forecast

Monday will be very similar to Sunday, pleasant, sunny, and dry. Another storm system is forecast to bring rain and thunderstorms to the Garden State on Tuesday.

And then we should begin another stretch of silent weather, potentially through the upcoming Labor Day Weekend. Filled with sunny skies and low humidity — that would be a wonderful way to end the "unofficial" summer season.

However, we have to keep eyes on the tropics this time of year too. A passing tropical storm can easily foul up our fair weather plans. As of now, the only system forecast to pass close to NJ is Franklin, kicking up some rough surf next week.