Thursday NJ weather: Rain is gone, wind still blows

The Bottom Line

That's a wrap on New Jersey's sixth storm system of the month of January. Six mainly soggy, not very wintry, storms. We did pick up about 2 inches of snow in NW NJ on Wednesday. Along with a widespread inch-plus of rain and wind gusts up to 53 mph. Even though we did not get buried in snow, this was quite a potent, nasty storm.

That area of low pressure is now rapidly driving away from New Jersey, which will lead to drier, improving weather on Thursday. Wind will be the big nuisance of the day.

After a pretty active couple of weeks here, things settle down heading into the final weekend of January. There are two storm systems on the horizon, potentially producing a few rain showers late-day Sunday and then possibly something more wintry next week as January turns to February.

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Thursday

As of this writing (6 a.m.), rain has exited New Jersey. There are still some big puddles out there from our overnight drenching, of course. So it will be a damp morning, with mist and spray. But you can skip the umbrella Thursday, as drier weather will prevail.

Winds are whipping Thursday morning, with occasional gusts over 30 mph. That wind will be with us all day. So don't get blown away.

Clouds are not going to clear completely, but I am optimistic we will catch breaks of sun by late morning and through the afternoon.

Temperatures are tricky. Thursday's calendar day high temperature already happened, as we were in the 50s at Midnight. Temperatures have since fallen into the 40s. And we will bottom out around 40 degrees (give or take) by late morning. Then thermometers recover to about the mid 40s Thursday afternoon.

I expect low temperatures Thursday night to dip just below the freezing mark for most of the state. Not a hard enough freeze to worry about widespread icing overnight, but do watch your step. Winds will be much calmer Thursday night.

Friday

A seasonably cold end to the workweek. Temperatures will barely eke past 40 degrees, with a light to moderate breeze. Skies should range from mostly to partly sunny. I can't completely rule out a little shower at some point. But overall, besides the little January chill in the air, we will do just fine.

Saturday

I am liking Saturday's forecast a lot. Sunshine will mix with clouds through the afternoon, and we will stay completely dry. A southwest breeze with push temperatures upward again, peaking around 45 to 50 degrees. Above normal for this time of year. Nice.

Sunday

Sunday will be the warmer day of the weekend. But also the murkier day.

Clouds will thicken up pretty quickly Sunday morning. At least high temperatures will shoot for 50 degrees or better for most of the state. And most of the day will be dry.

Our next storm system will roll in as early as Sunday afternoon. It's just a weak little impulse. But enough to spark some scattered showers. Given those mild temperatures, we're probably talking about raindrops exclusively yet again.

Showers may linger into Monday morning. Rainfall totals will be minimal, below a tenth of an inch.

The Extended Forecast

Again, this is not a particularly active weather pattern. Sunshine should win out Monday, as we cool back down to the 40s. Tuesday looks like a chilly, cloudy day, with highs near 40.

The next storm system on the horizon is currently modeled to arrive Tuesday night into early Wednesday. That overnight timing would be conducive to snow rather than rain. So there is a chance for widespread wintry weather. But given how the rest of this winter season has gone, I would not bet on it just yet. We'll keep you posted.

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