Saturday will be a nice day to get your last minute Christmas shopping done! It will not feel much like the holiday season though as highs soar to the low and mid 70s by 3 p.m. across much of eastern North Carolina. The Outer Banks and northeastern parts of the state will see highs in the upper 60s.

The warm up comes ahead of an approaching front that will also make for a breezy day. Winds from the southwest will likely gust up to 25mph through the afternoon.

As the front moves toward eastern North Carolina Saturday evening, spotty showers will be possible after 7 or 8 p.m. It now appears the front may slow down and that will keep off and on light showers around coastal North Carolina through at least early afternoon Christmas Eve. Less than half an inch of rain is expected.

The cloudy skies and off and on showers will keep highs in the mid 50s to near 60 Christmas Eve afternoon. The showers should come to an end by late afternoon.

Clearing skies is expected for Santa's trip into North Carolina Sunday night. That will allow for a sunny by cool Christmas Day.  Lows in the low 40s are forecast for Christmas morning. Afternoon highs will range from the upper 40s along the Outer banks to the low and mid 50s near Jacksonville and Wilmington.