Wednesday NJ weather: Foggy start, sunny and mild finish

The Bottom Line

Dense fog has enveloped New Jersey for Wednesday morning, but Wednesday afternoon and Thursday will turn pleasant and mild. Beyond that, our forecast turns into a wild roller coaster, with daily temperature swings up and down, up and down, up and down...

Wednesday

It does not feel like a late October morning. Temperatures are holding near 60 degrees, with a hint of stickiness in the air. You probably will not need a jacket — although we are sounding the foghorns! You can see the humidity in the air, as dense fog has enveloped all corners of the New Jersey to start the day.

Visibilities are at or below a quarter-mile in many spots. A Dense Fog Advisory has been posted for all 21 counties of New Jersey until 9 or 10 a.m.

There are three ways that fog can "burn off" or mix out, leading to improving weather:
1.) Our air dries out. Ain't gonna happen.
2.) Wind kicks up. Also not likely.
3.) Rising temperatures. That's the ticket.

So by mid to late morning, the sky should start to brighten dramatically for most of the state. The exception would be the immediate coast, which could hold on to foggy conditions and low clouds through the midday hours.

For the rest of the state, once the fog dissipates, it should turn into a nice day. Skies become partly sunny, with highs in the lower to mid 70s Wednesday afternoon.

Patchy fog is likely again Wednesday night. Temperatures will remain mild, dipping to around 60 degrees once again.

Thursday

Following another round of early fog, Thursday should be another marvelously mild day. Mostly sunny skies, with highs 75 to 80. (Note: I'm still keeping an optimistic forecast here, throwing the cooler-than-the-rest NAM model out the window.)

Friday

We'll close out the workweek going in the other direction. A backdoor cold front will introduce an on-shore breeze, blowing out of the east-southeast. Luckily, the ocean isn't that cold right now — water temps are in the mid 60s. So it won't be a dramatic change to yucky weather. But Friday will be cloudier with a shower possible. And highs will only reach the upper 60s (coast) to lower 70s (inland). Note: That is still above late October normals.

Saturday

A southwesterly breeze will help temperatures bounce back to the 70s to start the weekend. Saturday looks like a pleasant day, with partly sunny skies (at least) and dry weather.

Sunday

Another day, another cold front. Leading to some very different weather for the second half of the weekend.

This one will knock back temperatures significantly, with highs only reaching the 50s. It will be a cloudy and potentially showery day.

The Extended Forecast

The big weather story next week will be another big cold front around midweek, which will introduce a burst of rain and wind and then downright cold air. By the time Halloween rolls around, we'll settle into a calm but cold weather pattern. I suspect we'll be facing daily frosts and freezes with highs only in the 50s (maybe even 40s?) as November begins. Get those jackets and heaters ready!

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