NORTH CAROLINA -- It won't be long before you're wearing your favorite sweater while sipping on a warm beverage.  Monday, a passing cold front will usher in cooler and drier weather across the state for the rest of the week.  We'll wake up to crisp, more fall-like, mornings and enjoy sunny, comfortably cool afternoons. 

This is what you can expect starting Tuesday.

Sunday, we'll warm to the 80s across most of North Carolina.  Even the mountains will get close to 80 degrees.  Higher elevations will warm to the upper 70s Sunday afternoon.

Showers will arrive in the mountains Sunday night as the cold front approaches and continues southeastward towards the Triad and Charlotte.  Showers, along with some rumbles of thunder, may reach the Triangle in time for Monday's morning commute.  By the afternoon, showers and storms are possible ahead of the front as it traverses the Coastal Plain and Sandhills.  Eventually, rain chances associated with the front will move offshore Monday evening.

The cooler and drier air will spread across the state immediately behind the exiting front.  Monday temperatures will likely fall through the afternoon.  This means it will likely be much cooler as you're headed home from work than when you left earlier that Monday morning.

Temperatures will continue to fall into the chilly 40s by early Tuesday morning.  Afternoon highs despite full sunshine will only reach the 60s.