New Jersey will finally get a break from rain this weekend
Reservoirs rose to full or nearly full levels after the recent weekends and a wet summer season.
Finally! North Jersey can expect a break on Saturday from a long streak of rainy weekends. Meteorologists anticipate sunny days ahead with summerlike temperatures.
The temperature will climb gradually starting on Thursday, when it will reach the upper 70s. It could reach 80 on Saturday in some areas. The high on Sunday will be a bit cooler, in the low 70s, but still pleasant for outdoor fall activities.
Weather should be “uneventful” other than some cloud cover expected to develop Saturday night into Sunday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Matthew Wunsch in the Upton, New York, bureau.
Some precipitation could fall late Sunday into early Monday, said Amanda Lee, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service’s Mount Holly bureau.
“Our confidence is relatively low … chances are somewhat limited of precipitation for Sunday into Monday,” Lee said. “We’re looking at between 30% and 50%, with higher chances the farther north you go.”
Wunsch said forecasts are “really uncertain” about the timing of the next front, which will bring weather changes like rain likely early next week.
North Jersey reservoirs are full
Although it washed out many outdoor fall activities, the heavy rainfall over the past several weekends benefited New Jersey’s drinking water supply.
Reservoirs rose to full or nearly full levels after the recent weekends and a wet summer season. Veolia’s reservoirs on the Hackensack River, which serve 800,000 customers in Bergen and Hudson counties, were 100% full at the start of October.
They remain 100% full now, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection — well above the 60% capacity that the system has traditionally averaged this time of year.
The Wanaque Reservoir, operated by the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission, is at 79% capacity, well above the historical average of about 67% in late October. The Wanaque, the state’s largest reservoir, supplies up to 190 million gallons per day to Newark, Wayne, Clifton, Paterson, Passaic, Montclair and other towns.