NORTH TEXAS - Thursday morning began nice and crisp with dewpoints in the 50s under clear skies. In some parts of Dallas-Fort Worth, temperatures were about 15 degrees cooler than 24 hours prior.

Plenty of sunshine is ahead for North Texas as the weekend approaches.

Thursday is a day to spend time outside with friends or family but make sure sunscreen is on hand as there will barely be a cloud in the sky.

The nice weather sticks around for the opening day of the State Fair of Texas and opening weekend, so make plans to head to the fair and get all the tasty treats.

All eyes are on the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Helene strengthens Thursday morning. As of 7 a.m., Helene is a Category 2 hurricane and is forecast to strengthen to a major hurricane later Thursday morning into the afternoon.

It will be a devastating storm and Helene will be retired as a name after this event. The storm surge forecast could have a peak of 15'-20' in parts of Florida which is considered "unsurvivable."

On top of the storm surge, the flooding rain will spread through Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky through the end of the week and the weekend.

Will there be any impacts in North Texas from Helene? Simply, no. An area of low pressure will keep Helene far enough to the east that North Texans will see lots of sunshine through the end of the week with only some high clouds possible at times on Friday and Saturday.

With a northerly to northeast flow aloft, North Texas skies stay nice as well as temperatures.