New Jersey is expected to see some beneficial periods of rain over the next three days, although none of them will be washouts as forecasters continue to track the path of Tropical Storm Helene.
Although no severe rain is expected in the next few days, the National Weather Service says there is a chance of rain starting Wednesday morning. This is the first of two possible spells of rain on Wednesday, with the second coming tonight.
There may be a few showers here and there, and maximum temperatures are only 15 degrees, a few degrees below normal for late September. Temperatures barely drop at night.
Unsettled conditions will persist on a milder Thursday, with more chances of rain. Northwestern areas of the state have the best chance of precipitation, with about 60 to 70%. Along the Interstate 95 corridor, that chance drops to about 30%. Highs will be between 77 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit during the day, before dropping to 59 degrees Fahrenheit at night.
Rainfall of about half an inch is expected in northwest New Jersey through Friday, the New York office of the Weather Service said Wednesday morning.
According to the weather service, the forecast for Friday is “tricky”.
The remnants of future Hurricane Helene will sweep through Georgia, Kentucky and Tennessee as a tropical storm or tropical depression, combining with a low-pressure system that could bring rain to New Jersey, meteorologists say.
Tropical Storm Helen is expected to strengthen into a hurricane later Wednesday.National Hurricane Center
South Jersey currently has a 50 to 60 percent chance of rain late in the day, with chances dropping to about 20 to 30 percent in the north and west. Otherwise, Friday will be a mostly cloudy day with highs around 70 degrees.
As of 5 a.m. Wednesday, Storm Helene was located about 45 miles northeast of Cozumel, Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph. It is moving northwest at 9 mph and is expected to strengthen into a hurricane later Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said.
AccuWeather forecasts two possible paths for Helene once the storm makes landfall.
“There is some risk that Helene will ultimately bring some moisture north and bring fairly wet temperatures to the East Coast later in the week, but that is not the desired outcome at this time as it may be more likely that another storm over the Mississippi Valley will capture the tropical formation and pull the moisture in that direction instead,” said AccuWeather meteorologist La Troy Thornton.
AccuWeather has two forecast map scenarios for the storm, which will soon become Hurricane Helene after making landfall.AccuWeather.com
AccuWeather has two forecast map scenarios for the storm, which will soon become Hurricane Helene after making landfall.AccuWeather.com
In New Jersey, Sunday looks like the better of the two weekend days, with sunny skies and highs of around 21 degrees. While Saturday should remain largely dry, isolated showers cannot be ruled out. Meteorologists are predicting a 20 to 30 percent chance of rain.
Current weather radar
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Jeff Goldman can be reached at [email protected].
