Spotty showers keep Thursday unsettled, but the weekend improves for NJ

The Bottom Line

As a broad area of low pressure continues to spin through the Northeastern United States, New Jersey faces one more day of unsettled weather. That means we will see lots of clouds and a few showers and sprinkles throughout Thursday. Along with those brief spurts of raindrops, you might catch peeks of sun. Friday dries and clears out, leading to a pleasant and seasonable end to July. The first weekend of August brings mixed weather news. Both clouds and humidity will increase on Saturday, but it should be a warm and dry summer day. Sunday will have a dry start and a wet finish, but the latest forecast keeps rain away from New Jersey until late. So we will hopefully be able to salvage most, if not all, of the daytime hours.

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Weather Hazards

No flooding or severe weather is anticipated from Thursday's showers and sprinkles. However, there may be enough instability by late afternoon for a popup thunderstorm.

The forecast is not perfect or pretty. But there is nothing inherently dangerous to talk about.

Climatological Context

July 30 is the 211th day of 2026.

Normal high temperatures range from 86 to 87 degrees, while normal low temperatures range from 67 to 70 degrees.

July is, on average, New Jersey’s hottest and wettest month of the year.

Thursday

Thursday’s weather is just ... eh.

A broad area of low pressure — that pesky storm system that soaked us earlier in the week — is still spinning through the Northeastern United States. That will keep New Jersey’s weather less than perfect for one more day. The word is "unsettled," meaning we have to talk about clouds and raindrops once again.

The main theme for Thursday will be hit-or-miss, occasional showers and sprinkles from morning through about sunset. It will not rain all day. But you may need the umbrella or windshield wipers at times.

There will be lots of clouds overhead, although peeks of sun are possible along the way too. As instability builds a little during the afternoon, a pop-up thunderstorm cannot be ruled out.

High temperatures will end up in the upper 70s to around 80 degrees. That is cooler than Wednesday and cooler than normal for late July. But again, compared to the flooding and soaking rain from earlier this week, Thursday is more nuisance than problem.

Thursday night brings the start of improving weather. Our weather dries out, skies begin to clear, and low temperatures settle into the reasonable mid 60s.

Friday

July has been both wetter than normal and hotter than normal too. Somehow, New Jersey will close out this tumultuous month of weather with a nice summer day.

Friday will feature partly to mostly sunny skies, highs between 80 and 85 degrees, and manageable humidity. Technically, there is a chance of a shower, but it is hardly worth mentioning.

Saturday

Welcome to August.

Saturday looks good for beaches and pools, although clouds will win the sky overall. In addition, humidity will become more noticeable as dew points surge toward 70.

Saturday should be seasonably warm. High temperatures are forecast to reach 85 to 90 degrees.

Once again, I can not completely rule out an isolated shower or thunderstorm on Saturday. But that is a slight chance, at best.

Sunday & Beyond

Sunday will start dry. It will be cloudy and steamy, as humidity continues to rise. High temperatures will reach the mid 80s.

We have been watching our next chance of widespread rain for the end of the weekend. And latest model guidance suggests it will hold off until about Sunday night. That means we should salvage most of the day. There is still some uncertainty and wiggle room in that timing, but that is the most likely scenario at this time.

The long-range outlook features a return to unsettled, wet weather for early next week. Rain and clouds will be the big storm for Monday into Tuesday. Once again, multi-inch rainfall may be on the table.

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