Storm Systems To Combine For Some Much Needed Rain

Relief may be on the way for the rain starved Garden State.  With most of New Jersey under a moderate drought, and still searching for a good soaking rain this spring, the calvary is coming.

A low pressure system that is bringing showers and thunderstorms to the Gulf Coast and Florida is expected to combine with another storm system approaching from the Midwest to bring significant rainfall to the Northeast starting Saturday night, and lasting into Tuesday.

Some locales along the Appalachians and the Eastern Great Lakes such as Pittsburgh, Cleveland, and Buffalo are actually forecast to receive significant snowfall.  When things are all said and done on Tuesday, those cities could get at least a foot of snow.  For residents throughout New Jersey, there won’t be any snow, but there will be anywhere from one to two inches of  rain with some locations getting up to three inches.

Temperatures will also drop.  After highs in the low 70s today and the mid-70s tomorrow in Newark, the mercury will fall into the low to mid 50s on Sunday, climb up to 60 on Monday, and then drop down into the mid 50s on Tuesday according to the latest Weather Channel forecast.  So far this year in Northwestern Middlesex County, there has  been less than four inches of rain, and only a little more than an inch and a half has fallen over the last two and a half months.

Late Wednesday night into early Thursday morning, South Plainfield received the first measurable rainfall of the month, but it was only a trickle at 0.04 inches.  On the bright side, humidities have been on the rise as they and the dew points have climbed into the mid 40s, which has helped quell the fire risk.  However, at Allaire State Park in Farmingdale, there were still signs indicating an extreme fire risk.

The timeline for the stormy weather is expected to start late Saturday with some afternoon showers and thunderstorms.  The rain will pick up in intensity on Sunday.  As we enter the early part of next week, the rain will taper off to showers, but the winds will increase.  On Tuesday, the storm will move out, and conditions will start to improve.