Mostly sunny throughout Philly area Sunday, rain chances return Tuesday

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The stretch of dry weather continues for the second half of the weekend as temperatures Sunday afternoon return to the low 80s for much of the area with middle 70s along the coast.

An easterly wind will keep temperatures along the immediate coast a little cooler, but the rest of the area will enjoy temperatures a little warmer than the normal high, which has now dropped into the upper 70s.

The dry weather will continue for the start of the new week and through the Eagles game. Temperatures Monday afternoon will be in the upper 70s with increasing clouds through the afternoon into Monday night. The forecast for the Birds game against the Atlanta Falcons looks pleasant with temps at kick off in the low 70s before cooling into the 60s under mostly cloudy skies through the game.

Rain returns

We're watching for the return of rain to the area, which is slated to happen by late Tuesday into Wednesday thanks to a stalled out frontal boundary to our south. Positioned along the southeast coast, it will be the focus for the potential development of an area of low pressure that could turn tropical into early next week.

Since we now have Tropical Storm Gordon in the open Atlantic, if this system were to become a tropical storm, it would be named Helene. As of Sunday morning, there continues to be a 50% chance of a tropical depression or tropical storm developing before moving inland.

Forecast models have been split on how this system potentially develops, but there been enough consistency in some of the models to bear watching. While the center of the low looks likely to remain south of the area as of now, it may send a plume of moisture into our area, bringing rain chances by late Tuesday into Wednesday.

That system may stall and fizzle overhead, keeping things unsettled with shower chances through Friday. There remains a fair amount of uncertainty in the forecast through this time, but the trend signals toward bringing back the chance of rain to a good portion of the area through most of next week.

While it may not be what everyone wants, but from a drought perspective some parts of the area could use a little rain. The latest drought monitor shows that parts of Burlington and Atlantic counties in New Jersey are now suffering from Moderate Drought conditions. While much of the area remains in the surplus for the year, the last couple of weeks have been especially dry for this time of the year.

The NEXT Weather Team will continue to monitor the chance of rain into the middle of next week or whenever our next weather maker begins to take shape. Until then, enjoy this great stretch of weather through the weekend.

Here's your 7-day forecast:

Sunday: High of 83, mostly sunny

Monday: High of 79, low of 59, partly cloudy

Tuesday: High of 77, low of 66, few late showers

Wednesday: High of 77, low of 69, showers and storms

Thursday: High of 76, low of 67, showers and storms

Friday: High of 74, low of 65, a few showers

Saturday: High of 71, low of 61, rain clearing

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