BLOOMINGTON -- If you have delicate plants outside and don't want then to die, you might want to take them inside Saturday.

There's a chance of frost Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights, according to Amy Jankowski, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Lincoln. Typically, the first frost doesn't occur until Oct. 14.

Forecasters previously had thought there could be a chance of snow, but that was subsequently taken out of the forecast.

The cold weather comes after Central Illinois had to wade through a rainy Thursday.

About 0.7 of an inch of rain fell near Central Illinois Regional Airport by nightfall, but more rain was expected overnight, said weather service meteorologist Chuck Schaffer.

"It's much worse further south, with the Effingham area getting 2 to 4 inches today," he said.

The rain was compliments of a stalled front. That front will be pushed out by high pressure, which will bring the cold temperatures and winds from Canada, Jankowski said.

Temperatures are expected to drop to lows of 33 degrees on Saturday night, 38 degrees on Sunday and 32 degrees on Monday. There is a chance of showers Sunday night. If the temperatures drop lower, that's when it could turn to snow.

While it may seem a little early for such cool temperatures, they aren't expected to break any records.

The record lows are 26 degrees for Oct. 10, set in 1925; 21 degrees for Oct. 11, set in 1906; and 24 degrees for Oct. 12, set in 1987, according to Darcy Loy of Illinois State University's campus service/grounds department.

The average low for this time of year is in the mid-40s. The average high is in the upper 60s.

The lowest temperature reached during the same time in the last 10 years was 32 degrees on Oct. 11, 2000, according to ISU records.

Last year was quite the opposite with above average, balmy weather. It reached 76 degrees on Oct. 10, 81 degrees on Oct. 11, and 84 degrees on Oct. 12. Low temperatures were 48 degrees, 61 degrees, and 67 degrees respectively.

October also has seen its share of snow in the past: 5 inches in 1916; 3.4 inches in 1925; 3.5 inches in 1929; 1.5 inches in 1989. There was a trace of snow in October 1997.