Much cooler temperatures ahead, but we'll have to wait a week

Fall temperatures should make their much-anticipated return at the end of next week. The official start of fall is Wednesday, Sept. 22. and it could feel more comfortable in the days following that.

New data in on Thursday afternoon continues to hint at a cold front dropping our temperatures back into the 50s at night with comfortable dew points. A bigger push of fall air could arrive by the end of the month.

There's growing evidence that a cold front will bring another round of comfortably cooler, drier air at the end of next week. Lows could fall back into the 50s with much less humid air. By next Thursday, highs could fall to the upper 70s.

"We are going to have to be patient," WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell said. "We're not likely to really feel that fall air return until the end of next week, but at least we can finally say we are tracking a cold front that is going to bring changes."

Another more significant round of fall air (maybe worthy of a sweater) could follow for the end of the month (Sept. 27) but there's less certainty on this.