Cooler temperatures this past weekend arrived just in time for a full slate of fall festivals.

But that chill in the air didn’t keep people from attending the various events in the area, including Gold Rush Days in Dahlonega, which wrapped up Sunday.

While cooler daytime temperatures may be pleasant on a sunny fall afternoon, Gainesville soon may be getting its first taste of near-freezing weather.

Forecasters expect the area will see frost overnight in the early part of the week.

“It’s looking like you’re going to get down into the mid-30s (degrees Fahrenheit),” said Frank Taylor, a spokesman for the National Weather Service. “There’s a frost advisory in your area.”

Taylor said the frost is just a bit ahead of schedule this year.

“It’s certainly not unusual but it’s a little earlier than normal,” he said. “It typically happens a little later in the month.”

The first freeze is likely another month away.

“Normally it would freeze up in Gainesville around the 10th of November would be an average date that you’d see your first freezing temperatures,” Taylor said.

The difference between freeze and frost is hitting the freezing temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit.

“Thirty-two is the temperature at which water freezes,” Taylor said. “Frost is simply where condensation can occur and that condensation turns to frost because the objects may be colder than the actual ground.”

Taylor said temperatures are expected to rise by the middle of the week.

“It’s going to gradually warm up,” he said. “Temperatures will be fairly normal for this time of year with lows around the low 50s and highs in the mid-60s or so.”

But it is likely things will start to cool down as the weekend approaches.

“We’re now in the transition season so we’re going to go up and down,” he said. “By the end of the week rain’s coming back and temperatures will not be as warm.”

Early forecasts show rain by Thursday night that could continue through Saturday.

“That can always change,” Taylor said.