Tuesday feels like mid-June, rain and cooler air return to NJ Wednesday

The Bottom Line

Happy Cinco de Mayo! Monday was such a beautiful day, let's do it one more time Tuesday. It will be quite a bit windier and warmer this time around, with high temperatures expected to top 80 degrees across most of New Jersey. A storm system arrives on Wednesday with scattered showers and thunderstorms, along with clouds and cooler air. Another batch of hit-or-miss showers will come on Thursday. While neither day will be a washout, periods of wet weather could affect outdoor plans. Friday will be our next shot at a pleasant weather day, from start to finish. And the weekend has potential — we will have to watch for additional spurts of rain around midday Saturday and again Sunday night.

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Weather Hazards

Fire danger will remain elevated Tuesday, especially due to strong winds. Humidity is fairly low and the ground and underbrush are very dry.

Wednesday's rain could come with some embedded thunderstorms, but organized severe weather is unlikely.

Climatological Context

May 5 is the 128th day of 2026. Normal high temperatures for this date around New Jersey are right at 70 degrees across New Jersey. Normal lows range from 48 to 51 degrees.

May is, on average, New Jersey's 5th warmest, 5th driest, and 8th snowiest month of the year.

Tuesday

Tuesday will not be a "copy and paste" of Monday — while it will be sunny and pleasant, it will be noticeably warmer and windier.

The day began with some surprise showers that popped up over Pennsylvania and then tracked through parts of northern and central New Jersey. They have since fizzled out and/or exited the state.

For the rest of Tuesday, expect mostly sunny skies and a strong southwesterly breeze gusting up to 20 or 30 mph throughout the day. That wind will help fuel the summerlike warmup. Temperatures will rise from 50s in the morning, to the lower 80s in the afternoon. Even mainland beaches will be nice and toasty and warm.

Tuesday evening will be beautiful and comfortable too. And Tuesday night stays fairly mild. As clouds build in, temperatures overnight will only drop to around 60 degrees.

Wednesday

Wednesday will be a very different weather day, as our next storm system comes into view.

I think you will make it through the morning commute scot-free. But by mid-morning, scattered rain will start to push into New Jersey from the west. Showers and thunderstorms will travel through New Jersey through the midday and afternoon. Everyone in the state will get wet for at least a few hours on Wednesday. Even though your outdoor plans may be affected, depending on timing, it will not be a washout of a day.

In addition to the damp weather, Wednesday will be cloudy, breezy, and cooler. High temperatures will come down to the upper 60s or so. (There will be some "give and take" with that number — wetter areas of the state could be held to the lower 60s, drier spots could see 70s.)

Thursday

Thursday stays unsettled. But the latest model guidance suggests just a few areas of showers around, mainly to the south. So expect occasional showers. And I think we could even see some peeks of sun by late afternoon.

High temperatures will settle around 60 degrees. Keep in mind, that is about 10 degrees below normal for this time of year.

Friday & Beyond

Friday looks dry and mostly sunny from start to finish. So fair to call it a nice day. Temperatures will rebound to the mid 60s, which will also be pleasant. But again, slightly cooler than the long-term averages for early May.

Saturday will again reach the mid 60s, with considerably more cloud cover. And we are probably going to see a quick batch of midday rain on Saturday. Once again, it will not be anything heavy, steady, or severe. But it will be enough to interfere with some outdoor plans this weekend.

Mother's Day Sunday currently looks fine during the day, with mixed sun and clouds and highs back in the 70s. Yet another rain chance at night is forecast to arrive at night.

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