Low humidity and high pressure are allowing for pleasant, refreshing weather to dominate the Garden State this week.

Judging by the number of people I personally witnessed on Wednesday enjoying a midday stroll or cruising down the road with windows rolled down, I think we can officially declare it was a nice day. And if you liked Wednesday, odds very good that you're going to like the forecast for Thursday and Friday too!

Many thermometers have dipped into the 50s Thursday morning. Cool! And refreshing!

High temperatures will climb into the lower 80s for most of the Garden State Thursday afternoon, despite clouds filling in a bit through the afternoon hours. With high pressure right overhead, winds will probably stay dead calm for most of the day. There might be a little breeze along the oceanfront Thursday, keeping temperatures slightly cooler, in the upper 70s. Additionally, if your Thursday plans involve jumping in the ocean, please be aware of an elevated rip current risk from Sandy Hook to Cape May.

Thursday night will be comfortably cool once again, with lows dipping well into the 60s. Skies should become mostly clear and our weather should stay dry.

A slightly warmup for Friday won't make the weather forecast any less gorgeous. Highs are expected to reach the mid 80s for most of New Jersey to end the workweek, under mostly to partly sunny skies.

Our big change day will be Saturday, as New Jersey's weather picture gets a bit steamy again. (But only temporarily). High temperatures are forecast to come close to 90 degrees, with dew points in the 70s - that's almost the same level of heat and humidity we had to endure last week. Furthermore, an approaching front will fire off scattered showers and thunderstorms at some point on Saturday. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I hate when it rains on the weekend in the summer.

The timing of this rain is still a bit uncertain. The NAM model puts the primary rain chances between 11 a.m. Saturday (North Jersey) and 2 a.m. Sunday (South Jersey). Meanwhile, the GFS is earlier, putting rainfall start around 2 a.m. Saturday morning and potentially lasting through 11 p.m. Saturday night.

According to the latest models, I'm not convinced it's going to rain everywhere in New Jersey on Saturday - that's good news. Additionally, it's certainly not going to rain all day - certainly nothing like the deluges of last weekend. However, with localized pockets of heavy rain, and the potential for dangerous lightning and gusty winds, you'd be wise to keep this steamy and stormy forecast in mind as you make your weekend plans.

Sunday will be the nicer day of the weekend for sure, as dry and pleasant weather resume. Skies should be sunny and dry by Sunday morning, with high temperatures in the mid 80s for Sunday afternoon.

The wonderful weather looks to continue for Monday, Tuesday, and most of Wednesday. Not a bad first week and a half of August, eh?

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

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