Umbrellas up and windshield wipers on! Even though our latest forecast backs away from truly heavy downpours and the flooding threat, it's going to be a soggy start to Wednesday.

Bands of moderate steady rain will continue traversing the Garden State Wednesday morning. Rainfall totals will probably end up between a half-inch to an inch across most of the state, with locally higher amounts. We'll start to dry out around midday, but thick clouds and showers will remain through Wednesday afternoon and evening. If we get a break of sunshine and if temperatures are able to spike into the 60s, a few rumbles of thunder can't be ruled out late-day Wednesday.

Because of the raindrops and cloud cover, thermometers won't go very far on Wednesday. Lower 50s in the morning, upper 50s to lower 60s by the afternoon.

The GFS model in particular shows one more batch of showers pushing through New Jersey Wednesday evening, before skies substantially clear between Midnight and daybreak Thursday.

In between storm systems, Thursday looks like another glorious Spring day. While I had been promoting near-perfect sunshine earlier, I think there will be some fair weather clouds — I'm still keeping an optimistic "mostly sunny" forecast. A stiff westerly breeze will blow up to 20 mph at times. But with high temps making a run for 70 degrees once again, who care! Just plain nice, all day long.

Another storm system arrives during the day on Friday, with another brief shot of rain. Best chance for wet weather will be during the workday, between about 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. I don't see anything heavy or severe with this round of rain. Once again, the clouds and rain will impact temperatures, with daily highs limited to the lower 60s. If we get a pop of sunshine late Friday afternoon (and that's a big "if"), a quick rise into the mid 60s are possible.

And then we dive into the last weekend of April. And the forecast is looking really good!

Saturday will begin with abundant sunshine. That, along with the return of that stiff westerly breeze, will allow temperatures to top out near 70 degrees statewide (away from the ocean). The only hiccup will be an approaching front increasing clouds and possibly producing a shower right around sunset Saturday evening.

Sunday turns a bit cooler, with highs only in the lower 60s. Skies will swing back to sunny, and it should be a pleasant nice (albeit slightly below normal for late April).

The long-range forecast for next week shows a sizable ridge affecting the Northeast. That spells a big warmup, as we prepare to transition from April to May. (FYI, May 1 is next Tuesday.) Widespread 70s, if not 80 degrees, are looking likely for the middle of next week.

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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