I’ve Seen Better Weekends (April 1-3)

The weather looks very active this weekend in New Jersey. Lots of dynamics at play as we transition from mild and stormy to cold and dry. The main player for today is a low pressure system passing far to our N. It will drag a frontal passage through NJ later today/this evening. The main player for Saturday is a weaker area of low pressure passing just to our S. This should bring more nuisance rainfall to at least SENJ if not all of NJ. Lastly, the main player for Saturday night into Sunday morning is a clipper diving in from the N which should pass just to the N of New Jersey. This could bring light snow showers but should ramp up the cold northerly winds upon its departure as the cold air mass invades heading into next week. Let’s break the weekend down:

Friday (April 1) high temperatures should reach into the lower-70s away from the ocean. Coastal regions could be capped in the 60s. Skies should be mostly cloudy. Rain and thunderstorms are possible, especially during afternoon/evening hours. Winds should be breezy-to-gusty out of the SW. Localized areas of severe winds are possible under any embedded thunderstorms that form and mature. Overnight lows should fall into the upper-40s/lower-50s as lingering isolated/scattered showers persist overnight.

Saturday (April 2) high temperatures should reach the upper-50s/lower-60s statewide. Skies should be partly-to-mostly cloudy. More rain is possible with SNJ more favorable than NNJ. Regardless, at least nuisance mist/light rain is expected. Daytime winds should be breezy-to-gusty out of the W/SW. Overnight winds should ramp up out of the W (possibly W/NW) with gusts to 50mph possible. Temperatures should drop into the 30s (possibly colder for NNJ elevations). Overnight snow showers are possible but no accumulations are expected given the atmospheric temperature profile.

Sunday (April 3) high temperatures should have trouble escaping the 30s in NNJ. SNJ has a better shot of low-to-mid 40s. Skies should be partly sunny. Winds should be gusty out of the W/NW (up to 50mph). This will be a continuation of Saturday overnight. I expect winds to calm down by Sunday overnight into Monday as temperatures bottom out in the 20s and 30s.

So to recap: Mild and stormy today. Cooler but still kind of mild tomorrow with nuisance rain possible. Winds should then pick up by tomorrow evening and remain strong (up to 50mph gusts) through most of Sunday as temperatures drop.

An early look at next week indicates a cold start leading into a mild weekend with more rain and storms possible mid-week. The volatile temperature swings between transient periods of mild and cold should continue well into April. I’m hoping for sustainable warmth by the second half of the month. I’ll have an April outlook posted soon. Have a great weekend and be safe! JC

Jonathan Carr

Jonathan Carr (JC) is the founder and sole operator of Weather NJ, New Jersey’s largest independent weather reporting agency. Since 2010, Jonathan has provided weather safety and forecasting services for New Jersey and immediate surrounding areas through the web and social media. Originally branded as Severe NJ Weather (before 2014), Weather NJ is proud to bring you accurate and responsible discussions ahead of high-stakes weather scenarios that impact the garden state. All Weather. All New Jersey.™