Clearing skies and decreasing humidity will lead to a couple of very nice summer days for the Garden State, before another rain chance pops into the forecast.

Here are your weather headlines for Wednesday, June 29, 2016...

A Pleasant Piece of the Atmosphere

Pockets of heavy rain first plagued South Jersey and then North Jersey on Tuesday. The top daily rainfall total was reported in Dennis Township, Cape May County - over 3 inches! Even with the eleventh-hour drenching rains, New Jersey's June precipitation total will end up below normal. While the rain certainly helped the growing drought situation, this was unfortunately far from the drought-busting soaking we needed.

The culprit for the rain was a slow-moving cold front that is still meandering across New Jersey Wednesday morning. To the south and east of the front is a very humid air mass, where fog, low clouds, and a few sprinkles remain. After the front passes overhead, you'll notice a significant drop in the humidity level as skies begin to clear. (Models suggest the front should be done passing through New Jersey by early afternoon.)

So Wednesday will actually turn into a very nice summer day. Expect partly to mostly sunny skies, light winds, falling humidity, and high temperatures in the lower to mid 80s.

Thursday looks even better, as New Jersey will enjoy low humidity all day. We'll again see plentiful sunshine, dry weather, and highs in the lower to mid 80s.

Showers by Week's End

Our next storm system arrives late Thursday night into Friday (exact timing is still a bit up in the air). Not only will we see a chance for showers and thunderstorms throughout the day Friday, but humidity will also climb again too. With high temperatures back into the lower to mid 80s, the heat index ("feels like" temperature) could push close to 90 degrees for most of the state.

Friday does not look like a washout, but there could be some pockets of steady or heavy rain. Forecast rain totals are in the range of 0.2" to 1.2" across New Jersey.

Holiday Weekend Forecast

As the forecast picture continues to sharpen, I'm happy to say that our 4th of July weekend weather is looking pretty good! There's a chance for a lingering shower Saturday morning. The rest of Saturday and all of Sunday should feature plenty of sunshine. Clouds will increase on Monday, leading to another rain chance potentially creeping into SW NJ by late Monday night (hopefully after "fireworks time").

High temperatures throughout the holiday weekend will be in the 80s for most of the state, with cooler 70s expected along the coast. Not bad at all!

I'll be taking a few days off for my birthday, the 4th of July holiday, and my family's impending move. The MDZ Weather Blog and I will return Wed. 7/6. In the meantime, you'll be in the incredibly capable hands of the rest of our weather team. Have a safe and fun holiday weekend!

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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