Mostly sunny, breezy and much cooler in Philadelphia this Saturday
After the driest month EVER recorded in Philadelphia history, the streak continues.
Although the area saw a few light sprinkles Friday morning, only a TRACE of rain was recorded at Philadelphia International Airport, meaning our dry streak record continues into the weekend.
Friday marked a consecutive 34 days without measurable rainfall, the old record of 29 days in 1874 is long gone. [Measurable rain is .01" or greater].
The cold front that brought those few sprinkles will also bring considerably cooler temps to the region over the weekend. After two days in the 80s, the weekend will be back to seasonably cool highs in the low 60s, and you will need the jackets, sweatshirts or hoodies once again.
Morning lows will be in the upper 30s to low 40s. While dry and very nice for early November, the fire danger remains at extreme levels. Avoid any sort of open flame outdoors — certainly no bonfires or leaf burns, but even something small like a discarded smoldering match, a cigarette butt, or sparks from trucks dragging chains can lead to fire danger in a situation like this.
Don't forget to turn your clocks back one hour before going to bed on Saturday night. Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday. That means an extra hour of sleep. It also means an earlier sunrise and sunset. Sunday's sunset will be before 5 p.m. This is also the time to change batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
If you're headed to Happy Valley for the Penn State — Ohio State college football game at noon on Saturday, expect some seasonable and crisp football weather with kickoff temperatures in the upper 40s and a good deal of sunshine.
The weather on Sunday looks perfect for the Eagles as they host Jacksonville at the Linc. Kickoff will be sunny and 62 degrees.
By Monday, temperatures are back on the rise and on Election Day, we top out in the upper 70s with sunshine — it may be the warmest Presidential Election Day in Philadelphia history. Wednesday remains mild as another front approaches with a chance of showers.
The severe drought has spread across the entire region and with only a chance for spotty showers in the next seven days, it is likely to reach the extreme level for parts of the area next week.
The last time any part of our area reached the "extreme" level was in 2002, meaning this is likely the worst drought we have experienced in over two decades.
Here's your 7-day forecast:
Saturday: Cooler, sun. High of 63
Sunday: Sunny. High of 61, low of 39
Monday: Sun and clouds. High of 67, low of 39
Tuesday: Warm for voters. High of 77, low of 53
Wednesday: A shower? High of 79, low of 63
Thursday: Mostly sunny. High of 70, low of 60
Friday: Clouds, some sun. High of 64, low of 52