‘Blah’ weather for NJ Tuesday: Occasional showers, cloudy, cool

The Bottom Line

The resounding theme of New Jersey's weather forecast through the rest of the workweek: Unsettled weather and unseasonably cool temperatures.

It's May. The big Memorial Day Weekend kicks off in just 25 days. The Summer Solstice is only 50 days away. Normal high temperatures right now are flirting with 70 degrees.

But for the next several days, we will not even come close to that mark.

A stagnant piece of energy over the Great Lakes will rotate clouds and raindrops through New Jersey. That spells occasionally damp and dreary conditions for both Tuesday and Wednesday. Thursday and Friday will be slightly brighter and warmer, but still not completely dry.

As for next weekend? The forecast looks fantastic.

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Tuesday

Worth noting, there are still a number of Flood Warnings posted for rivers, streams and creeks around New Jersey, still swollen from this weekend's multiple-inch rainfall event. Water levels continue to recede. Technically, a downpour or extended period of rain could exacerbate any residual flooding issues. But I don't think the rain in the forecast poses much of a threat.

Through both Tuesday morning and afternoon, we will see occasional showers and drizzle dot the Garden State. It's not a washout. Nor will anything heavy or prolonged develop. However, the day will be damp and gloomy overall.

While you might catch a glimmer of sun at some point, clouds will consume the sky for most of the day. It will be breezy, blowing out of the west-southwest at 20+ mph.

And temperatures will be quite cool — 40s in the morning, mid 50s in the afternoon. That is about 10 to 15 degrees below normal for early May.

I will keep the shower chance alive for Tuesday night, although I do see a reduction in rain activity overall. It's going to get pretty chilly, as most temperatures descend deep into the 40s by Wednesday morning. Probably not cold enough for a widespread frost or freeze.

Wednesday

More of the same. Another wave of scattered showers during the daytime hours Wednesday will dampen the Garden State. Skies will be mostly cloudy. Winds will be lighter than Tuesday.

Model guidance paints Wednesday as the coolest day of the week, with highs only in the lower to mid 50s. Akin to a typical mid to late March day.

Thursday

I think we will start to see some improvements on Thursday, although it won't be perfect.

High temperatures will still hover about 10 degrees below seasonal norms, peaking in the upper 50s.

Skies will remain mostly cloudy.

And a few spot showers may pop up Thursday. Not everyone in the state gets wet. (Although each forecast model has a different opinion on the most likely location of raindrops, so I can't guarantee dry weather for anyone.)

Friday

Even brighter and even warmer to end the workweek. In fact, I'll call it partly sunny, instead of mostly cloudy. High temperatures should bump into the lower 60s.

Once again, an isolated shower is possible at some point Friday. Given the increased warmth and relative humidity, there could even be a few rumbles of thunder too.

Saturday

You want nice weather for a Spring weekend? You got it.

As our atmosphere finally settles down, Saturday looks like a dry day. Seasonably mild too, with highs in the upper 60s. Skies should progress from partly sunny to mostly sunny.

No complaints, really. Enjoy it.

Sunday & Beyond

Sunday gets even sunnier and even warmer, with highs pushing into the lower 70s. Again, a marvelous May weather day.

And it looks like that warmth will sustain itself through next week, with more 70s in the forecast. Mid-May has the potential to produce some beautiful weather days — depending on when and how often our next threat of rain moves in.

Dan Zarrow is Chief Meteorologist for Townsquare Media New Jersey. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter for the latest forecast and realtime weather updates.