Matt Broderick

A very chilly Friday morning with many of us waking up to the first hard frost of the season, as low temperatures dipped all the way down to the upper

We're in for summer-like warmth for the first half of the week

High temperatures will soar to the lower 80s Tuesday afternoon with near record highs

Expect high temperatures to top out in the upper 70s Wednesday.

TODAY: Sunny. High: 64 TONIGHT: Partly to mostly cloudy. Low: 45 TOMORROW: Partly sunny and becoming windy. High: 65 Low: 35

Sunday featured lots of sunshine as many saw low temperatures first thing in the morning around or just below freezing followed by afternoon highs only in the upper 50s and lower 60s. The last weekend of October delivered what every October weekend has delivered, not to mention every October weekday too: dry weather! We're still on track for the driest month on record throughout the area, from the Lehigh Valley to Berks County to the Delaware Valley too. As a result, the moderate to in some cases severe drought continues to expand each week, as rainfall deficits approach 9 inches since late August! That means more nice weather is in store between now and the end of the month on Halloween, with temperatures the only forecast variable, since the sunny skies and dry weather are constants. Look for more cool sunshine Monday, with highs either side of the 60-degree mark. The next couple of nights will be clear and cold, with freeze warnings up for most spots south and east of the Lehigh Valley that haven't seen a freeze yet this fall. Starting Tuesday, we'll warm up steadily through Halloween, with upper 60s for highs on Tuesday morphing into breezy and balmy upper 70s on Halloween Thursday. Our next cold front is due in early Friday morning, and could bring a few scattered showers late Thursday night and Friday, followed by cooler but mostly dry weather for the first weekend of November.

We'll kick our warm up into high gear the next couple of days, before it peaks on Thursday. A weak disturbance off the coast and another to our north will split our area on either side, but provide some extra clouds on Tuesday. So let's call it a partly sunny day overall, but despite a few extra clouds, it will be milder than recent days, with highs inching higher into the upper 60s. By Wednesday, we'll shoot for mid 70s with partly to mostly sunny skies and an increasing but a warm southwesterly breeze around 10-15mph. Fire danger will remain high given the increasingly dry/drought conditions. Overnight lows will continue to warm along with the daytime highs, with mid 40s expected Tuesday night then low 50s for Wednesday night.

We're wrapping up the driest October and driest month on record over the next couple of days with a Halloween warm up.

Record highs were set through most of the area on Halloween, with 80-degree warmth for many on Thursday.

We'll start the work and school week off with just a little more cloud cover Monday.