Every single storm system we've seen so far this summer has been a doozy. As expected, Thursday evening brought another round of strong thunderstorms with tropical rainfall and gusty winds. Over 3 inches of rain was reported in both Mercer County and Bergen County. Some dramatic flooding took over places like Newark and Long Beach Island. And the National Weather Service will survey wind damage in the Ramblewood section of Mt. Laurel, Burlington County to determine whether it was caused by straight-line winds or New Jersey's fifth tornado of 2019.

The weather forecast heading into the weekend looks great, as long as you don't mind some very warm (slightly-above-normal) temperatures. We also start an extended ~6-day stretch of almost-completely dry weather.

As of Friday morning, rain has exited the Garden State. It's still pretty steamy though, with temperatures in the lower 70s and some patches of fog. By Friday late morning, you'll find emerging sunshine with a fresh northwesterly breeze up to 20 mph. Our atmosphere will really start to dry out Friday afternoon — as humidity levels drop, the day will become more comfortable.

Amidst the sunshine and drier air, we'll see high temperatures jump into the upper 80s for most of New Jersey. Mainland beaches will remain pretty warm, given the stiff ambient land breeze. Barrier island beaches (really, anywhere with a large body of water to the west) will see highs in the upper 70s to around 80.

I think you'll really notice the difference in mugginess Friday night. As low temperatures dip into the upper 60s, it should be a gorgeous summer night.

Saturday looks spectacularly sunny and very warm, with highs pushing into the upper 80s. As that sunshine heats the land mass quicker than the Atlantic Ocean, we'll have a low-level circulation set up along the coast — otherwise known as a sea breeze! That will make for busy beaches this weekend, with coastal high temps again in the upper 70s to around 80. Ocean temperatures are nice and warm in the 70s right now.

I'll add a few extra clouds to the sky and a couple degrees to the thermometer on Sunday. Upper 80s north, near 90 south, still closer to 80 along the coast.

I should mention that there is a very slight chance of a teeny tiny spot shower somewhere at some point in our hot air mass Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. It's hardly even worth mentioning, and don't let it affect your weekend plans.

Monday gets even better, thanks to a weak cold front dragging dew points (humidity) even lower. Lower to mid 60s in the morning, lower to mid 80s in the afternoon, with a mix of sun and clouds. It will be another dry weather day.

Changes kick in starting on Tuesday, and this is the part of the forecast you might not like. Heat and humidity look to surge through the middle of next week, pushing temperatures into the lower 90s and heat index ("feels like") temperatures into the upper 90s. Ladies and gentlemen, start your air conditioners!

Our next widespread rain chance looks to arrive late next Thursday.

Have a fantastic, storm-free weekend! See ya Monday...

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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