Happy Friday friends! Today WILL be nicer than yesterday. No doubt about it.

We’re heading into a brighter day overall across the region, but it won’t be completely picture perfect from start to finish. We still have a departing area of low pressure spinning offshore, and because of that, northwest winds wrapping around the system will continue to kick up clouds at times through the day.

So while we will absolutely see periods of sunshine, expect intervals where the clouds try to win out too. Overall though? Definitely an improvement.

It’s also going to be a breezy day with northwest winds running around 15 to 20 mph at times. The good news is humidity remains very manageable, so despite the breeze, the air will feel fresh and comfortable.

Temperatures this afternoon climb into the lower 70s west of the Garden State Parkway, while beaches stay cooler in the upper 60s thanks to that northwest flow coming off the water.

Tonight turns cooler and quiet with lows dropping back into the 40s and 50s under partly cloudy skies.

Now let’s talk about Saturday because honestly…it’s looking like the PERFECT weekend day.

• Tons of sunshine
• Low humidity
• Highs in the lower 80s inland
• Comfortable conditions from start to finish

Then we crank the heat up in a BIG way heading into Sunday.

Temperatures surge into the 90s on the mainland Sunday and it looks like that summer-like heat sticks around through at least the middle of next week. Tuesday currently looks like the hottest day of the stretch, and middle 90s cannot be ruled out in some spots.

The next real chance for thunderstorms arrives around Wednesday as a cold front approaches the region.

To sum it all up, today is brighter, breezy, and more comfortable with a mix of sun and clouds. Saturday looks absolutely fantastic with sunshine and lower humidity, then we launch into a potentially intense stretch of heat beginning Sunday with 90s sticking around into next week.