Our weather will continue to improve as temperatures continue to warm, with widespread 80s ahead for the Garden State.

I tried to remain positive and optimistic on Wednesday, hoping desperately that the sun would peek through the thick clouds a little tiny bit. Eh, it didn't. And so temperatures unperformed, ending up closer to 60 degrees than 70 for most of the state.

We'll try again today! Some fog and drizzle have been reported Thursday morning. Nothing too thick, and nothing too wet. Just a continuation of the dampness.

Conditions should slowly improve by late morning through Thursday afternoon. I am a bit concerned that fog and clouds will grip the Jersey Shore throughout the day, similar to Wednesday. But I'll err on the optimistic side, calling for increasing sunshine and most high temperatures bumping into the lower to mid 70s. Because of the fog potential, clouds, and the sea breeze, the Jersey Shore will be limited to the 60s — still pretty pleasant for late April.

The Garden State will enjoy a nice evening, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures falling through the 60s.

Meanwhile, a weak cold front is charging an impressive line of storms eastward, and looks to arrive in New Jersey overnight. As impressive as that rain band is now, it is expected to fall apart significantly before it reaches the coast. So we'll only see scattered (hit or miss) showers (if that) from about midnight to daybreak Friday.

As those showers wrap up, skies should quickly clear to sunshine for the rest of Friday. A real winner of a day, high temperatures climb to around 80 degrees away from the ocean.

Saturday still looks downright summerlike, as highs soar into the lower to mid 80s. Even the Jersey Shore should cook on Saturday, in the mid to upper 70s (at least). It will be breezy and even a bit humid, with partly to mostly cloudy skies. I can't completely rule out a late-day shower or thunderstorm as New Jersey barely gets clipped by a storm system. The best chance for raindrops will be in North Jersey in the afternoon and evening hours.

Sunday, on the other hand, will not be summerlike at all. As winds shift from southwesterly to easterly, a dramatic cooldown will take place. No more 80s — high temperatures on Sunday will be limited to the lower to mid 60s (maybe even 50s along the coast). Skies will remain mostly cloudy and, again, there could be a shower (especially in the morning).

Thermometers should recover a bit on Monday, as winds switch back around to a southerly direction. That will push high temperatures into the mid 70s to around 80 degrees across the state. Clouds will still win the sky, and it will be breezy to windy too.

Our next "big" storm system will be a strong cold front that will fire off a round of potentially strong thunderstorms late Monday into Tuesday. For now, the best guess at timing of these storms would be between 8 p.m. Monday and 8 a.m. Tuesday — but that timeline is subject to wiggle either earlier or later as the front draws closer. A period of heavy rain is a good bet, with damaging winds a potential problem too.

Behind that front, temperatures will get knocked back a bit through midweek, but should still make it to around or above normal.

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

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