Big Warm-Up But Bad Weather On The Way In NJ

We're finally going to get some relief from the icy and snowy weather that's dominated our lives over the past two weeks. But it won't be total relief.

New Jersey's weather is supposed to warm up considerably by the end of the week after last week's single-digit freeze-up. Temperatures are expected to rise as high as 57 degrees by Thursday and Friday.

But it won't come without some of the same issues we've had these past two weeks.

There's a 70 to 80 percent chance that the whole state will get a lot of rain — perhaps drenching rain — by Thursday night and Friday. That could make for a slippery commute Friday morning.

A storm will produce a swath of snow, ice and rain and raise the potential for flooding in parts of the midwestern and northeastern United States throughout Friday and Saturday. But New Jersey will get rain from that storm.

The combination of surging temperatures, drenching rain and melting snow will accelerate a thaw that will already be underway from the Appalachians to the Atlantic coast. At the very least, travelers and property owners should be prepared for poor drainage area flooding beginning on Friday, according to AccuWeather.

Rain and low clouds will affect the major airport hubs of Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina, on Friday.

Farther northeast, the hubs from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston are likely to experience significant delays from periods of drenching rain, fog and breezy conditions from Thursday night to Friday night, according to AccuWeather.

Here is the forecast:

• Tuesday afternoon: Sunny, with a high near 41. West wind 10 to 13 mph.
• Tuesday night: Mostly clear, with a low around 20. Northwest wind around 5 mph becoming calm in the evening.
• Wednesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 37. Calm wind becoming south around 5 mph in the afternoon.
• Wednesday night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 32. Light south wind.
• Thursday: A chance of rain. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 47. Light south wind. Chance of precipitation is 30%.
• Thursday night: Rain. Low around 43. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
• Friday: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 57. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
• Friday night: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a low around 44. Chance of precipitation is 70%.
• Saturday: Rain likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 48. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
• Saturday night: A chance of rain before 10pm, then a chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 26. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Patch photo