Weather roller coaster continues in New Jersey with big drops and jumps in temperatures this week. Watch video
Mother Nature teased us with bouts of spring-like weather in February and early March. But now that spring has actually arrived, it's feeling more like winter again.
Frigid air drifted down from Canada on Wednesday. Northerly winds pushed the wind chill down into the low teens Thursday morning. And there's a threat of sleet or freezing rain looming in northern New Jersey on Friday morning.
The big question on many minds: When is spring going to win this lingering see-saw battle and make a long-term commitment to stick around?
Well, New Jersey is in for a brief warmup this weekend, with daytime temperatures forecast to reach the upper 60s on Saturday. After that, however, the mercury will be dipping right back down into the 40s on Sunday before rising into the 50s and staying there for most of next week, forecasters are predicting.
Drought warnings linger despite snow and rain
Daytime highs in the low to mid-50s is normal for late March in New Jersey, so that's nothing unusual.
For folks who are itching for a steady stream of 60-degree afternoons that are ideal for strolls in the park and other outdoor activities, it appears they'll have to wait until early April -- and perhaps mid-April.
"The pattern itself is trying to warm, but the general trend is more ups and downs," said Ken Elliott, a meteorologist at the WeatherWorks forecasting company in Warren County. He fears those daily temperature swings could persist as long as April 15.
Every time warm air surges up from the South for a couple of days, it seems the polar jet stream dips down, pushing the warm air away and allowing cold air to flow down from Canada for a couple of days, Elliott said. That's the general pattern that has been in place in New Jersey since mid-February.
The good news, for those who are sick of the wintry chill, is that the daytime highs should gradually climb to comfortable levels as April progresses, Elliott said.
Forecasters at AccuWeather also support that trend. Their long-range forecast is projecting a string of three or four 60-degree days in North Jersey and South Jersey to occur during the first week of April, then a longer streak of 60-degree days the following week. Normal highs range from 56 to 59 in early April, and 60 to 62 the second week of April.
The National Weather Service's long-range outlook calls for only a 40 to 50 percent probability of above-normal temperatures in New Jersey from March 30 through April 5. Up through April 14, the weather service says there's an equal chance of above-normal temperatures and below-normal temperatures.
In short, it's looking like spring is taking its time to feel like spring.
Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @LensReality or like him on Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook.