Memorial Day weekend, the traditional kickoff to the summer season, won’t be feeling too summery in New Jersey this year — especially on Saturday.
Temperatures are hovering in the upper 40s Saturday morning before steadily rising into the 50s, then settling in the low to mid-60s Saturday afternoon. That’s about 10 degrees cooler than normal for May 24.
Gusty winds will also be blowing on occasion.
On the bright side, partly sunny skies should prevail, with only a slight chance of spotty rain showers in the afternoon, mainly in northern New Jersey, according to the National Weather Service.
Although it won’t be ideal beach weather in terms of temperatures, conditions are expected to improve on Sunday and Monday for holiday parades, memorial services and other outdoor activities.
Memorial Day weekend is getting off to a cool, cloudy and breezy start on Saturday, with a chance of spotty rain showers in the afternoon. But conditions will be gradually improving on Sunday and Monday.National Weather Service
Forecasters say both of those days will feature mostly sunny skies and no threat of rain, with highs rising into the upper 60s on Sunday and the low 70s on Monday in inland areas. Highs will likely be stuck in the mid-60s along the Jersey Shore.
Beach-goers may want to stay out of the ocean, with cold water temperatures in the low to mid-50s. In addition, there’s a moderate risk of dangerous rip currents on Saturday.
The risk of dangerous rip currents is expected to be low on Sunday, forecasters said.
New Jersey’s mostly dry weekend will be in sharp contrast to the recent string of cool, wet and cloudy days. This is already shaping up to be the wettest May in recent years, with many areas picking up 5 to 6 inches of rain and some towns and cities getting saturated with as much as 8 inches.
The Garden State normally gets about 3.3 inches of rain in South Jersey, about 4 inches of rain in Central Jersey and 3.7 to 4 inches of rain in North Jersey during the entire month of May.
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Stories by Len Melisurgo
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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com or on X at @LensReality.