Clear skies Friday ahead of a rainy weekend, but what about New Year's Eve?

After a cold start, temperatures will climb Friday to near seasonable levels today with highs around 40 degrees. Expect plenty of sun with high clouds streaming in as the day goes on.

If you're headed out Friday evening, there are no weather concerns. Just increasing clouds with temps in the 30s. It's after midnight that some showers start moving in from the west, moving east during the overnight hours. Steadier rain then moves in late at night and toward dawn.

Winter Weather Advisory issued 

With temperatures falling into the 20s for places north and west of the city, freezing rain becomes a possibility overnight into Saturday. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for this reason. What exactly does this mean? With temperatures aloft warm enough, everything will fall as rain. 

But with surface temperatures in the higher elevations below 32 degrees, it could freeze on contact, making for slippery roads and sidewalks if left untreated. This will likely not be a widespread icing, but areas of freezing rain are definitely a concern. The good news is the time period is overnight and into early Saturday morning, so a lot of us will be sleeping anyway.

After sunrise, as temperatures start to rise, the freezing rain potential goes away. Expect a soggy start to your Saturday, then more scattered showers continuing through the afternoon. Just a damp and dreary day. Highs will be in the mid to upper 40s.

Another round of light rain is then expected late Saturday night into Sunday morning with a warm front. Behind the front, much of Sunday looks dry, especially for the afternoon and early evening hours. Temps will surge big time into the upper 50s and even 60s for inland New Jersey

Another round of rain then swings through late Sunday night into Monday morning before once again, we dry out for Monday afternoon. Highs will again be in the 50s.

We'll of course fine tune the New Year's Eve forecast as we get closer, but an early look calls for temps in the mid to upper 40s at midnight with yet again another round of rain moving in. Overall, a milder and wetter finish to the year.