May 9, 2012: 80 Degrees This Weekend

Forecast Highlights:


- Rain ends tonight, partly cloudy and breezy end of week
- Mostly-partly sunny and warm weekend; 80 degrees possible
- Clouds, highs in 70s return next week


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As a cold front is moving through the region, an area of moderate rain is currently affecting the area, with widespread light to moderate rain along with locally heavy showers, especially near NYC. There appears to be somewhat of a dry slot over northern NJ, which may slightly limit rain totals tonight, although the light to moderate rain will continue falling across most of the area through at least 2-4 AM. Clearing skies and breezy winds are expected for the late week, followed by a mostly sunny and warm weekend with high temperatures perhaps reaching 80 degrees for the first time since mid April.


Thursday - Friday Outlook:


Mostly cloudy skies are expected on Thursday with breezy NW winds, locally gusting up to 30 mph at times. High temperatures are expected to reach the lower to mid 60s inland (NW NJ, interior SE NY) and the mid to upper 60s across the rest of the area. Temperatures will drop overnight into the 40s across most of the area, perhaps even dropping slightly below 40 degrees further inland towards Sussex and Orange counties.

Mostly sunny skies are expected for Friday with highs also in the mid to upper 60s, getting to 70 degrees in parts of the immediate NYC area.


Weekend Outlook: Mostly Sunny, Warm


Last weekend was originally expected to be mostly sunny and mild; instead, however, mostly cloudy to cloudy skies were observed with highs in the 60s, almost 10 degrees colder than expected. There was no organized high pressure nearby, however, with a low pressure to the south of the area. For this weekend, however, the low pressure currently near the central US will gradually move east, ending up south/SSE of the area for Saturday and Sunday. With the high pressure to the south but still extending into the region, a WSW wind will set up, allowing for mostly sunny skies and warm temperatures.

Highs are expected to reach the mid to upper 70s across most of the area on Saturday, including most of Long Island and southern CT except for coastal locations, getting very close to 80 degrees in parts of NE NJ. A weak cool front will approach on Sunday, with a few showers possible later in the day but with otherwise partly sunny skies and highs again reaching the mid to upper 70s for most places. Depending on the timing of the clouds and rain, there may be a better chance of NE NJ getting to 80 degrees.


Next Week: Highs In 70s, Occasional Showers


Behind the cool front on Sunday, a warmer air mass will settle across most of the US as the last signs of cool air from the winter continue to gradually disappear. Despite the warmer air mass, however, the core of the warmth is not expected to shift east to the area. While no organized low pressure appears to develop at this time, there is a risk of widespread showers in the Mid Atlantic, extending into the area at times, such as the early-mid week time period. High temperatures are generally expected to stay in the 70s. Stay tuned for more information on next week's outlook.