Sunny stretch of weather continues Monday in Philadelphia region

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Sunday was the start of some truly gorgeous skies, light winds and comfortable temperatures in the Philadelphia region. The high reached 72 degrees — the coolest high temperature we've had since the middle of May!

Overnight, expect clear skies and lows around 50 in the city. For the suburbs and especially areas north and west, expect the temperatures to drop into the 40s by Monday morning — refreshing but chilly!

Monday starts Day 2 of at least a week-long stretch of sunny weather. Temperatures this week will climb to the 80s by Tuesday and beyond with overnight lows in the 50s and 60s.

The extended outlook from the NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is for drier-than-normal conditions across the Delaware Valley through Sept. 24. Currently, we are not in a drought, but abnormally dry conditions are spreading across the area.

Quick tropical update: Potential Cyclone Six is slated to become Tropical Storm Francine in the southern Gulf of Mexico and move north, impacting an area from Texas to Louisiana. While the storm may intensify into a Category 1 hurricane, it's the rainfall that will be the main concern, with 7-10 inches possible for some areas along the Gulf Coast. We'll be watching this very carefully.

With this taste of fall on the way, it's hard to believe we are still in the summer season. The autumnal equinox (start of fall) is in two weeks on Sept. 22 at 8:44 a.m. in Philadelphia.

On that day, we have equal hours of daylight and darkness, but our hours of daylight will quickly become shorter after Sept. 22, and the days will feel even shorter on Nov. 3 when daylight saving time ends and we flip the clocks back one hour -- brightening our mornings but darkening our evenings. The one silver lining is that extra hour of sleep.

7-day forecast

Monday: High of 77, low of 50, sunny and warmer

Tuesday: High of 82, low of 58, gorgeous

Wednesday: High of 83, low of 58, sunny skies

Thursday: High of 83, low of 58, bright and sunny

Friday: High of 83, low of 60, few more clouds

Saturday: High of 85, low of 62, partly cloudy

Sunday: High of 83, low of 62, clouds, some sun