An Air Quality Alert remains in effect through midnight.

The Jones Road wildfire in Ocean County, New Jersey has burned over 15,000 acres and is only 50% contained as of Thursday 1 p.m. The wind direction has allowed some of the smoke and haze to disperse through the day Thursday, but the wind picks back up from the south through the evening. Another surge of smoke is likely between 8 p.m. and midnight, but not as widespread as Wednesday night. Air quality may be poor for sensitive groups, with the air quality index reaching over 100 at times for some.

The wind direction changes from south to west overnight, pushing all the smoke away from the borough. Expect a clear start Friday with sunshine and temperatures in the 50s, a cool and comfortable start to the day. As a sea breeze develops through the day, which is a wind from the south, some haze could be back at times into the afternoon and especially evening. The smoke dimishes Friday night and rain showers move in by 3 a.m.

It will be a rainy start to Saturday with steady rain and some heavier pockets through most of the morning. By noon, expect a brief break and possibly a few peeks of sun. The more sun, the warmer it gets. Temperatures are likely to surge into the 70s before a line of storms approaches between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. It will be rather weak, with a gusty downpour or two possible across parts of the borough.

It will get cooler behind the showers and storms for Sunday, and quite windy too. Temperatures back down to the 60s despite plenty of sun. Gusts could potentially exceed 40 mph which will make it feel cooler.

A signal for major warmth remains next week, with more 80s and even a chance at 90 degrees possible for Tuesday and Wednesday next week. Stay with the News 12 Storm Watch Team for updates.