Six days left in 2019, and only one notable storm system for NJ
After a week of dry, quiet weather, New Jersey's weather forecast turns a bit wetter and slightly more active as 2019 draws to a close.
Feeling foggy on this post-Christmas Thursday morning? So is Mother Nature! Dense fog has developed in southern and coastal New Jersey, with visibility below a half-mile in spots. In addition to the reduced visibility, temperatures are quite cold away from the ocean front (in the 20s). That raises the possibility of freezing fog, where the little water droplets within the fog freeze on contact with a cold surface. Watch your step in foggy areas, as you may encounter slippery spots on roadways, walkways, parking lots, etc.
A Dense Fog Advisory is in effect until 9 a.m. for Atlantic, northwestern Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Monmouth, Ocean, and Salem counties.
Fog will lift by around 9-10 a.m. and the rest of your Thursday. It will be cloudy and slightly cooler than Wednesday, with highs in the mid to upper 40s.
In addition, an on-shore (northeasterly) flow looks to push some spotty showers and sprinkles over New Jersey starting Thursday afternoon. Widely scattered and very light, we're just talking about a smattering of raindrops here — but it is our most significant weather happening in the past week!
My only concern Thursday night would be in the colder, higher elevations of NW NJ where the precipitation may fall as freezing drizzle. Localized slippery spots are possible. Most low temperatures overnight will only fall into the upper 30s to around 40 degrees.
I have to keep a few isolated showers in Friday's forecast too. In the morning, those raindrops will still come off the ocean. In the afternoon, they'll be driven by an approaching cold front. Again, very light stuff. Under mostly cloudy to overcast skies, we'll see highs in the lower 50s Friday afternoon.
That cold front won't do very much to temperatures on Saturday. You should catch some breaks of sunshine, especially early in the day. High temperatures will mainly climb into the lower 50s, about 10 degrees above normal. Looks like a decent late December day.
Our next substantial storm system — the last of 2019 — is forecast to arrive late Sunday. With temperatures rising from the 50s on Sunday to near 60 early Monday, we're just talking about rain, rain, rain. That rain will be steady for a time, with rainfall totals ending up around a half-inch.
Following the rain, a cooldown will carry us into the New Year's holiday. Tuesday is New Year's Eve, and it looks like a mostly sunny and breezy day with highs in the lower to mid 40s. By the latest forecast, we would ring in 2020 with clear weather and a Midnight temperature around 35 degrees. New Year's Day (Wednesday) will only top out around 40 degrees — chilly, but fair.
As cooler weather returns to start January, we'll have to monitor any approaching storm systems carefully for wintry potential. Long-range models are specifically suggesting 1/2-1/3 and 1/5-1/6 as possibilities for rain/snow. That means hardly anything until we're at least 7 days away.
More From Beach Radio
