Today is the first day of autumn — but it won’t seem like it in the Lawrence area.

“Our first fall afternoon is going to feel a lot like summer,” said Jennifer Schack, 6News meteorologist. Schack said the temperature, which was starting out in the high 50s this morning, would reach 80 by noon and a high of 86 by late this afternoon under sunny skies.

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“We stay dry today, with plenty of sun and mild conditions,” Schack said. The average high for this date is 79. Overnight, the temperatures drops off to 63, under partly cloudy skies.

Clouds roll in on Thursday, bringing a chance for showers and thunderstorms and bringing cooler weather to the area through the weekend, she said.

The greatest chance for rain Thursday is in the early afternoon hours, from about noon to 2 p.m., Schack said. The National Weather Service put the chances of showers and thunderstorms at 30 percent after 4 a.m. Thursday, 40 percent Thursday and 20 percent Thursday night. Thursday’s high will be 78.

Friday’s morning low will be 51, with the high reaching 76 by Friday afternoon under mostly sunny skies.

“It looks very pleasant and fall-like for your weekend,” Schack said. “Once the 70s arrive, they’re here to stay for awhile.”

Schack said the official beginning of fall is at 11:30 a.m. Central Daylight Time today, when the sun crosses over the equator, heading from the northern hemisphere to the southern hemisphere.

One misconception about the equinox is that the days and nights are of equal length.

However, Schack said that Lawrence will get 12 hours and eight minutes of sunlight today. That’s because sunrise is figured by when the sun’s glowing orb first emerges over the horizon and sunset is figured after the sun fully disappears over the horizon, she explained.