Through the end of October, New Jersey is experiencing a weather rollercoaster with cold mornings, warm afternoons and continued extremely dry conditions that could pave the way for fast-spreading wildfires.

That's the latest weather forecast as New Jersey begins the weekend with red flag fire warnings in seven counties and a freeze warning in 10 counties.

The cold mornings will be followed by a big warm-up that could lead to record or near-record highs by Halloween, according to forecasters at AccuWeather.

In parts of New Jersey, temperatures could climb into the 70s on Thursday and reach 80 degrees as trick-or-treaters hit the streets.

But for now, temperatures will rise to the mid 60s on Saturday afternoon, drop to the mid 30s on Saturday evening, then get stuck in the upper 50s on Sunday before dropping into the low 30s on Monday morning. Degree values ​​are falling, forecasters predict.

With sunny skies expected every day this weekend and most of next week, temperatures will warm to the low 60s on Monday, the upper 60s on Tuesday, the mid-70s on Wednesday and on, according to the National Weather Service Heat to over 70 degrees on Halloween.

The current record highs for Halloween are 81 degrees in Trenton, 82 degrees in Newark and 83 degrees in Atlantic City, all on October 31, 1946.

The high temperature in New York City on Halloween is 81 degrees and in Philadelphia the record high temperature is 82 degrees, also set in 1946.

Halloween high temperatures are typically between 59 and 62 degrees in our region of the eastern United States

Red flag fire warnings

With Saturday's dry weather and gusty winds posing a high risk of wildfires, a red flag warning has been issued for seven New Jersey counties.

The warning covers Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean counties and is in effect from late Saturday morning until 7 p.m. Saturday.

“The combination of very dry conditions, low relative humidity and gusty winds will create favorable conditions for rapid fire spread,” the weather service said. “Possibly. Any fires that occur could be difficult to contain, particularly in the Pine Barrens region of New Jersey.”

Freeze grandfather clock for Monday morning

The National Weather Service has issued a freeze warning for Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cumberland, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Salem counties.

The watch, which could be upgraded to a warning later this weekend, will be active from 2 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday, when freezing temperatures of up to 31 degrees are possible.

“Frost and freeze could destroy crops and other sensitive vegetation and potentially damage unprotected outdoor plumbing,” the weather service noted. “Take steps now to protect sensitive plants from the cold.”

Current weather radar