11:30 a.m. Wednesday, October 14, 2026: Following the 2-4" soaking from Hurricane Isaias's remnants on Sunday, the second full week of October kicked off on a mostly cloudy, dry and milder note with high temperatures in the low 70s on Monday. Skies then cleared Monday night, and south-southwesterly winds on the backside of a high pressure system ushered unseasonably warm and humid air into the Lower Susquehanna Valley on Tuesday. Under sunny skies, high temperatures reached the low 80s in most spots with dewpoints in the mid 60s. The same air mass is still in place across northern MD and southeastern PA, and westerly, downsloping flow off the Appalachians will boost high temperatures and dewpoints into similar territory this afternoon despite mostly cloudy skies. In fact, the October 14th record high temperature of 84°F from 1975 at Millersville University may be challenged or tied. A weak cold front will traverse the Commonwealth from northwest-to-southeast spanning this afternoon into tonight. Heavy showers and embedded thunderstorms rumbled through western PA this morning, but only a few lighter showers will survive the journey over the Appalachians. I won't rule out a brief downpour or rumble of thunder in spots, but most areas will only receive a few sprinkles or brief shower. Behind the front, easterly winds will usher much cooler and drier air into the mid-Atlantic States on Thursday. Lingering moisture in the mid- and low-levels of the atmosphere will cause skies to remain partly-to-mostly cloudy, and high temperatures will be 15-20°F lower than today. This places them around average, or in the mid-to-upper 60s, with dewpoints back down around 50°F. A weak disturbance riding eastward along and north of the frontal boundary may graze northern MD with additional showers or a period of steadier, light rain Thursday afternoon, but the wet weather should remain south of PA. The cold front will then return northward as a warm front Thursday night, so a few more showers may erupt across southeastern PA and the Lower Susquehanna Valley after sunset. Due to the clouds and showers, low temperatures both tonight and Thursday night will be more typical of early September and generally between 55-60°F. On Friday, winds will turn southwesterly again and pump the same warm and humid air mass currently in place back into the region. As a result, high temperatures and dewpoints will be similar to this afternoon, and there should be a 3-5-hour period of sunshine from the late-morning into the mid-afternoon hours. However, a powerful cold front will then sweep through the region from the mid-afternoon into the evening hours and be accompanied by a line of heavy, gusty showers. In fact, the most intense showers could produce wind gusts of 50-60 mph in spots and cause some tree- and powerline damage. I won't rule out a rumble or two of thunder, either, but this should be the exception rather than the rule. Be alert for a brief but significant reduction in visibility, as well as minor debris on some roadways, during the Friday afternoon commute. Behind the front, howling, northwesterly winds of 12-25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph will usher a genuinely autumnal air mass into the Commonwealth on Saturday. A deep trough, or dip in the Jet Stream, will swing the Northeast during the first half of the weekend. As a consequence, temperatures will "fall off the cliff" Friday evening and wind up in the upper 40s to low 50s early Saturday morning. Dewpoints will also plummet behind the front and plunge from the mid-to-upper 60s Friday afternoon to the 20s by Saturday afternoon or evening. After a partly-to-mostly cloudy Friday night, skies should turn mostly sunny by the mid-to-late morning hours on Saturday, but you'll definitely need a jacket or sweatshirt for outdoor homecoming activities at Millersville University. Rain will be long gone by Saturday morning's parade, but it will feel like it's in the 30s or low 40s outside on account of the blustery conditions. A large high pressure system of Canadian origin will then settle into the Ohio Valley Saturday night and shift into the mid-Atlantic States on Sunday. Winds will gradually slacken Saturday afternoon and then die down completely Saturday night. The stage will then be set for efficient, radiational cooling, and low temperatures may bottom out in the low-to-mid 30s early Sunday morning. With the high pressure system directly overhead, there shouldn't be a cloud in the sky on Sunday. However, you'll need to keep that jacket or sweatshirt handy with high temperatures only in the mid 50s to perhaps 60°F. Low temperatures early Monday morning will be similar to or even 1-2°F lower than Sunday morning, so I fully anticipate the first widespread frost(s) of the season on one or both mornings with sub-freezing temperatures possible in the most rural/outlying areas. The high pressure system will shift into the western Atlantic by Monday and then hold its ground through the rest of the week. As a result, there won't be any threat of precipitation, and a gradual warming trend should take place from Monday-Thursday under mostly sunny skies. That being said, high- and low temperatures should not exceed the upper 60s and low-to-mid 40s, respectively, on any day next week. Welcome to autumn! -- Elliott