A cool, rainy Monday ahead

The dog days of summer will give a whimper on Monday, as cool winds and rain will combine to push that day's temperatures down to the lower 70s.

Temperatures for the rest of the week, however, will be closer to the average for this time of year.

Sunday is expected to be sunny with a high near 80 degrees, with cloudy skies Sunday night and lows in the lower 60s across most of the island, and in the upper 50s in the pine barrens, said Joe Pollina, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Monday's weather couples cool temperatures with moisture, with a 70 percent chance of rain and highs in the upper 60s to lower 70s, Pollina said. The chance of rain drops to 30 percent Monday night, with lows in the 60s.

Pollina said Monday's cooler temperatures will be due to a combination of the rain and winds that will bring cooler air down from the northeast.

Tuesday will see a return to sunny skies, with highs in the lower to mid-80s. A chance of rain returns on Tuesday night, with 30 percent probability, and lows are forecast to be in the 60s.

The chance of rain continues on Wednesday, with a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Highs on Wednesday are forecast to be in the lower 80s, with lows during the partly cloudy evening hours to be in the upper 60s.

Thursday is forecast to be sunny, with highs in the lower 80s. Partly cloudy skies Thursday night will bring the lows into the upper 60s.

Friday is predicted to be mostly sunny, with highs in the lower 80s.

Pollina said temperatures are more or less around the average for this time of year, with the exception of the cooler weather on Monday. July, not August, has the highest average temperatures of the year, Pollina said.

"August is when we start seeing temperatures come down," he said.