Thursday NJ weather: Tropical start, turning into a beautiful day

The Bottom Line

As expected, it was a soaking wet, stormy night across New Jersey. Total rainfall totals along the Delaware River in Camden and Gloucester counties likely exceeded 2 inches. Some wicked lightning and strong wind gusts accompanied the final big push of storms early Thursday morning.

As of this writing (6:15 a.m.), the worst weather is behind us. As the threat for heavy rain, flooding, and severe weather departs, we still have some lingering showers to talk about for Thursday. Otherwise, it's going to turn into a very nice day. And Friday looks great too.

Of course, this is also the point of the week where we start seriously looking at the weekend. And Saturday's forecast is looking better, although we will have clouds and raindrops around.

Thursday

I'm not going to talk much about Thursday morning's heavy rain. Because, by the time you read this, it will be almost all done. It certainly has been a "tropical" start to the day, with heavy rain and high humidity in the air.

So let's discuss improvements instead. While the big push of heavy rain has exited the Garden State, you'll still find some showers, sprinkles, and mist around through mid-morning (9 a.m.)

After that, skies will clear to sunshine. And a fresh northwest breeze will carry in dry air. We're already seeing more comfortable conditions take hold in northern New Jersey, and that refreshing air will drift south and east by Thursday afternoon.

So yes, it is going to turn into a beautiful day. With one potential wrinkle — I can't rule out a stray shower in North Jersey, between about 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Isolated and brief, if anything.

High temperatures will be nice and warm, in the lower 80s. A moderate risk of rip currents continues along the Jersey Shore Thursday.

Thursday night will be comfortably cool, clear, and uneventful. Low temperatures should mainly dip into the upper 50s by Friday morning.

Friday

Hands down, we close out the workweek with a beautiful June day.

We'll enjoy mostly sunny skies, with some late-day clouds building in. Our weather will be dry. And our air will be dry. (We're getting into the time of the year when low humidity is a real treat.) High temperatures will be close to 80 degrees, right on the normal high for this time of year.

Saturday

For several days now, I've cautioned that our weather will turn unsettled again for the start of the weekend. However, at the same time, I've advised you not to necessarily cancel your outdoor plans.

And guess what — the forecast has improved quite a bit in the last day. Some model guidance is even painting a mainly dry Saturday with some breaks of sun. Given the overall trend and consensus, however, I have to be a bit more pessimistic. There will be lots of clouds. And probably some passing showers, especially for the first half of the day Saturday.

High temperatures will be cooler, but not miserable. I'll put highs in the lower 70s for now.

Sunday

I'm still thinking Sunday will be the brighter, better day of the weekend. It will be mostly cloudy. Highs improve to the mid 70s, with still-manageable humidity levels. But there could be a few isolated showers around midday.

The Extended Forecast

It looks like next week will be seasonably warm and generally pleasant. Long-range models show a few storm systems at least coming close to New Jersey, which could have an impact on sky cover, precipitation, temperatures, etc. But for now, I don't see any major storms in the next 7 to 10 days.

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