Wednesday NJ weather: A day of sunshine, warm temps, and dry weather

The Bottom Line

Wow. What a wild weather day. The forecast for Tropical Storm Isaias is definitely one that I hoped would not play out. Unfortunately, it did, with 70+ mph wind gusts bringing down countless trees and causing up to 1.4 million power outages across the state.

It is rare that the atmosphere leaves me speechless, but I admittedly had a couple of "moments" on Tuesday. The first was when tornadic cells just off the coast of Cape May and Ocean counties were spitting out 100+ mph winds — I have never seen those colors on weather radar before. The second came as I stood outside the radio station watching the sky, just before the "brunt" of the storm arrived — the turbulence and speed of the clouds overhead were just incredible.

We should all be thankful the storm moved in and out way faster than expected (forward motion was up to 40 mph!) As the cleanup continues, there's a lot of good news in the forecast through the rest of the week.

Wednesday

Sunny. Warm. And dry. Probably the best forecast I could give you, as crews work tirelessly to clean up and restore power. Winds will be no stronger than 15 mph. And with high temperatures in the mid to upper 80s, those without power and air conditioning are going to sweat and swelter.

Even though Post Tropical Cyclone Isaias is now over Quebec, Canada, the Atlantic Ocean remains churned up. A moderate risk of rip currents continues along the Jersey Shore, with 3 to 4 foot ocean waves. Nice beach day, but you might want to stay out of the ocean.

Wednesday night will be fairly comfortable, as lows dip into the 60s. Clouds will be on the increase, especially after Midnight.

Thursday

Our weather will turn more unsettled for a couple days, as a very slow-moving warm front lifts into New Jersey. It will be a day of scattered showers, especially (but not exclusively) for the southern half of the state. Embedded training thunderstorms are possible, which could cause localized heavy rain and flooding issues.

Farther north, you'll see some showers, but primarily just a mostly cloudy day.

Because of the clouds and raindrops, high temperatures will be held below normal. Upper 70s where it rains, lower 80s where it doesn't.

Friday

More of the same. Scattered rain, this time drifting north throughout the entire state. Lots of clouds. And more humid too. High temps once again limited to the upper 70s to lower 80s.

Saturday

Brighter, warmer weather takes over for the weekend. There still could be an isolated shower or thunderstorm around midday Saturday. Otherwise, clouds will turn to sunshine. Look for pleasant high temperatures in the lower to mid 80s.

Sunday & Beyond

Sunday looks like the sunnier, warmer day of the weekend. High temperatures may come close to 90 degrees. A nice, although pretty hot, summer day.

It looks like our next batch of unseasonable heat and humidity will be early next week, with widespread 90s possible. I don't see any major storm system (nor any tropical storms) to worry about. Although such steamy conditions may spark some stormy weather.

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