Temps Continue to Roller Coaster (Dec 30-Jan 3)

Discussion: After a foggy/rainy start for most of New Jersey Monday should improve after the last round of rain moves through by late-afternoon. You might even hear a boomer. Conditions then improve for Monday night and temperatures roller coaster a little this week. We should cool down for Tuesday night through Thursday, spike milder for Friday and Saturday morning, then chill down again by Saturday night through most of Sunday. The upper-level pattern remains unsupportive for snowstorms in the near-future. Until the Pacific jet orientation coming into the W US changes it will remain this way. Smaller thread-the-needle events are still possible but nothing that’s going to drag the K-word out. Once temps drop by this Sunday next week looks colder with a few transient shots of cold between Sunday and next weekend. It’s stale cold Canadian air mass though not the true Arctic air needed for the bigger snow events. No major snow storms are showing right now but there is a faint signal for a coastal system in the Jan 7-8 period. As currently modeled it’s a bit too far out to sea. I’ll be watching if the data indicates a W trend this week.

Monday (Dec 30) high temperatures should vary drastically by location. Near-40 for NNJ to near-60 for SNJ. Skies should be mostly cloudy with periods of rain possible through late afternoon. Skies should clear heading into overnight hours. Winds should be light out of the E/NE perhaps breezier along immediate coastal areas. Overnight lows should range from near-30 to near-40 NNJ to SNJ.  

Tuesday (Dec 31 – New Years Eve) high temperatures should range from near-40 to near-50 NNJ to SNJ. Skies should be mixed with sun and clouds. Winds should be light out of the W/SW. Overnight lows should range from upper-20s to near-40 NNJ to SNJ.

Wednesday (Jan 1 – New Years Day) high temperatures should range from mid-30s to mid-40s NNJ to SNJ. Skies should be mostly sunny. Winds should be light-to-breezy out of the W. Overnight lows should range from lower-20s to lower-30s NNJ to SNJ.

Thursday (Jan 2) high temperatures should reach the mid-to-upper 40s for most areas. Skies should be mostly sunny with a few clouds here and there. Rain is possible for evening/overnight hours. Fog is possible. Winds should be light out of the SW. Overnight lows should range from lower-30s to lower-40s NNJ to SNJ.

Friday (Jan 3) high temperatures should range from mid-40s to mid-50s NNJ to SNJ. Some SNJ locations could flirt with 60. Skies should be mostly cloudy with periods of rain possible. Overnight lows should range from near-40 to near-50 NNJ to SNJ.

An early look at the weekend indicates much colder temperatures by Sunday. Saturday should start out as a transitional “dry out from Friday rain” day and transition from milder in the morning to colder at night. The week after looks colder with a small coastal winter storm signal in the Jan 7-8 period.

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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.™