Temperatures in NJ at 6pm (9/15/11)

The coolest air of the past several months has arrived in the forecast area this afternoon and early evening. A cold front swept through the area earlier today, and is ushering in the airmass with gusty northwest winds. The rapidly dropping dew points are adding to the shocking air--making it feel very crisp. Through tonight, it appears likely that the winds will die down at least a bit, and the temperatures will continue to drop as the cold airmass makes it's way here. Temperatures are forecast to drop into the low to mid 40's throughout much of the interior, but may stay closer to 50 in the immediate New York City Metro area. No matter how you slice it, it's going to feel downright chilly compared to the past several days (and weeks) of relatively warm summer weather. The temperature drop could be more than 30 degrees by this evening, and the higher elevations have a chance of dropping into the upper 30's! I think it's safe to say, at this point, that autumn isn't far away. It's certainly doing it's best to let us know.

THE FORECAST... 

Through Tonight: Partly to mostly cloudy early, with a stray shower or two. Then, becoming mostly clear and much colder. Temperatures dropping into the upper 30's to mid 40's inland, and upper 40's to near 50 in the city. Northwest winds 5-10 miles per hour gusting to 20 mph early. I think it's safe to say, you're going to want a sweatshirt and long pants..maybe a jacket, too.

Friday: Beautifully sunny, with some stray fair weather clouds. High temperatures in the low to mid 60's, low dew points, and beautifully crisp air. A wonderful fall day throughout the area (even though it's still summer!).

A BRAND NEW FEATURE...

We invite you to check out our newest feature, interactive forecast (beta). Here's the low down: eventually, we want this product to replace our text forecast page. It adds more functionality, and you can get more accurate forecasts for your location (whether you live in NW NJ or on Long Island), instead of a forecast for just New York City. However, it's still in testing. We're still working ironing out some details.

So go check it out, and let us know what you think. This forecast is not computerized--it is updated by our forecasters at least twice daily. Send us an email, or give us a shout out on Facebook or Twitter to let us know what you think. We're looking forward to hearing from you!

Article written by John Homenuk, September 15th, 2011 at 6:44pm. Looking for a forecast? See New York Metro Weather's Long Range Forecast for the work week, or view our Technical Forecast Discussion for the more serious weather enthusiasts. Also, check out our new Forecast Overview tab. For up to the minute details on forecasts, watches, warnings, and alerts, follow us on Twitter and Facebook.