First Alert Weather 5 p.m. update 5/23/2026

Added: 2026-05-24

[00:00:01]This is a First Alert Weather special report.

[00:00:05]Good afternoon, everybody. I'm meteorologist Vanessa Murdock with you on this First Alert Weather day. We're giving you a live look at Seaside Heights, and I find this live image so incredibly sad. Those are the first two people we've seen strolling along the boardwalk since we pulled this camera up multiple minutes ago. It is not a pleasant kickoff to this Memorial Day weekend, and improvement will be slow to arrive. It's really midday Monday when we finally start to see some more dry, persistently dry conditions roll into the tri-state area. So, on this First Alert Weather day, thank you for being here with me. Let's talk about what is happening out there. First and foremost, you know it is raining. As we look back at the stats, these numbers crunched by our weather producer Matt Villa Fane, and he looked all the way back to 1869.

[00:00:51]Since then, 42% of our Memorial Days have delivered some amount of rainfall.

[00:00:56]Most recently, 2024, we picked up nearly an inch of rain then, and this Memorial Day of 2026 will not be dry. We do expect rain in the morning, but to be clearing out by afternoon. But again, that's a long way away. We have tonight.

[00:01:10]We have Sunday, and it is just going to be filled with rain. Live outside right now, it's a bleak picture. We've got a low cloud ceiling. Rain is persistent.

[00:01:18]Might be a little bit heavier overnight.

[00:01:20]51° at this moment in time. It is chilly. Those winds are out of the east-northeast at 11, and I'll tell you what, those gusts are going to get more significant overnight. Now, when we're talking about the rain, we are not the only ones dealing with soggy weather.

[00:01:34]Not in the tri-state area. It's really so much of the eastern corridor, even in the deep south, they're dealing with severe weather. But for us here at home, it is many hours more of wet weather rolling through the region. So, let's go ahead and show you what that looks like.

[00:01:47]First and foremost, it is essentially light rain rolling through the region right now, will continue as we push forward over the next several hours. So, we do see that persistent light rain at the moment. Little bit of a lull starting to show to the southwest of Philly. So yeah, we're not going to have just endless rainfall all the way through Monday morning, but we will have plenty of rain through Monday morning.

[00:02:11]So here we go hour by hour. 6:00 tonight you can see that we're starting to get that more persistent rain coming to an end. That doesn't mean there won't be some mist and occasional drizzle, but after 6:00 then we see a brief respite overnight, midnight and beyond through your Sunday morning. That's when we have more light to moderate rain, maybe some bouts of heavy rain, possibly some embedded thunderstorms. We cannot rule that out. The good news is we don't expect major flooding issues with this rain. It is so persistent and not just a deluge all at once that the roads should be spared any serious flooding. That doesn't mean there will be some ponding and some slow goes as a result of the wet weather, but we should certainly not have to worry about anything like we saw on Wednesday night. So as we go through your Sunday morning expect it to be soggy rounds of rain that could be moderate, maybe heavy. By Sunday afternoon again a little bit of a lull.

[00:03:02]I'm not saying we're going to see the sun breaking through, but I am saying, "Hey, you know, if your best bet to get outside will be late Sunday afternoon."

[00:03:10]Then Sunday night and Monday another break, still damp and dreary, but not drenching. And then as we head into Monday morning our final gasp, rain, maybe some embedded thunderstorms by midday. Wet weather is exiting for your Memorial Day. Sunshine is starting to break through Monday afternoon into Monday evening. Best part of your holiday weekend because not only are we going to actually see the sun Monday, but temperatures will finally warm to more seasonable levels. Today we're only in the 50s, tomorrow we'll struggle to get to 60, but we're in the 70s by Monday. Total rainfall out of this system we're estimating say an inch, maybe two plus inches in some very isolated locations, but this is rainfall all the way through midday Monday. As we check out your Memorial Day weekend forecast for tomorrow, 60° no sunshine, rain especially in the morning hours, and then through the afternoon we'll see some letting up of the rain from west to east. Monday morning, it's soggy. By afternoon, breaks of sun and 74 beautiful end to your Memorial Day weekend, but unfortunately, we cannot say that for the entirety of the state. So, your winds will also be a factor, especially if you're along the coastline. This evening, the winds are ramping up.

[00:04:22]Notice what happens especially east of the city overnight to your Sunday morning, they're really cranking up. So, wind gusts tomorrow morning out of the east, 20, 30, maybe 40 mph. This is an incredibly cool wind off the Atlantic Ocean. Anybody hanging out at the beach tomorrow morning, you're going to get whipped by sand and rain. Then as we go through the day Sunday, they start to let up a little bit, but we're still holding on to those gusts 30 to 35 for areas east of the city. Monday, the breeze is much more subdued and it also changes direction. Monday afternoon with winds out of the northwest, it's a more dry breeze and that's where we're going to see those breaks of sun. But tonight, tomorrow, winds out of the east keep those clouds low in the sky, temperatures cool, and unfortunately, the rain continues to fall. Now, in addition to what you can expect along the coast for anybody who was thinking, "Hey, it's raining, it's good fishing weather, going to go out to sea and do some fishing." Please note there's a high surf advisory through Sunday, then through Sunday as well, dangerous risk of high rip currents, something else to keep in mind. Although, it's certainly not inviting swim weather, is it? All right, now your First Alert 7-day forecast. First Alert weather day tomorrow, 60°, rain, no sun, it's bleak.

[00:05:31]Then as we head into Monday, some improvement for your Memorial Day after those morning showers, then by midweek, it's back to summer and 83 on Wednesday.

[00:05:38]Though we are still unsettled for the first half of the work week as we approach next weekend, that's when the sunshine returns in full force. Please have a beautiful holiday weekend despite the lack of sunshine. We'll keep you posted right here on CBS News New York about the latest with the rain and any impacts that we hear about at our airports that might be impacted or rather led up to by the weather. Have a great night.

[00:06:04]This has been a First Alert Weather special report.