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Coldest morning of the fall so far in Philadelphia with freeze warnings in Pennsylvania. See the full forecast

Sunshine and chilly weather around Philadelphia Thursday; warming up into the weekend
Sunshine and chilly weather around Philadelphia Thursday; warming up into the weekend 03:59

Temperatures dropped below freezing Thursday morning in the Lehigh Valley, and down to 42 degrees in the city, making it the coldest morning of the season so far. We will rebound to the low 60s this afternoon, which is still below normal.

Our average high this time of the year is in the upper 60s. We do get back to seasonable temperatures by Friday and then we'll have another nice weekend warmup with highs climbing back to the 70s. 

Weather headlines this week
Weather headlines this week CBS Philadelphia

Dry conditions right through the weekend, which dose not help what is quickly becoming a moderate and even severe drought for parts of the area, especially portions of Burlington and Atlantic counties. In fact, we've only had 0.77" of rain in nearly two months, and no rainfall so far in October. 

This is actually a record to date. In over 150 years, we've never had zero precipitation for the first 16 days in October, and the dry trend looks to have no end. 

Weekend forecast
Weekend forecast CBS Philadelphia

If the current forecast holds, this will likely be a top 10 dry stretch - the longest we've gone without rain in Philadelphia since records started was 29 days, way back in 1874.

We are currently at 18 days and with no rain in the forecast through most of next week, there's a chance we could get close. If we were to make it to October 28 without any rain, that would be a new record for the area.

As of now, it's looking like that time frame may be our next chance at any rainfall, so it could be close! We'll keep you posted.

As always, stay with the NEXT Weather team to keep you alert of any changes.

Here's your 7-day forecast:

7-day weather forecast graphic
CBS News Philadelphia

Thursday: Sunny, cold morning. High 62, Low 40.

Friday: Sunny. High 70, Low 43.

Saturday: Beautiful. High 73, Low 43.

Sunday: Warmer. High 77, Low 42.

Monday: Warm again. High 79, Low 49.

Tuesday: Sunny, warm. High 79, Low 51.

Wednesday: Warming up. High 78, Low 52.

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