James Spann: Get ready for Alabama’s hottest Halloween ever from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

ALABAMA DROUGHT ROLLS ALONG: Exceptional drought conditions continue across Alabama. This will be the third year on record with no measurable rain during the month of October for Birmingham; it also happened in 1901 and 1924.

Today will be the 43rd consecutive day without rain for Birmingham; the record streak is 52 days set in 1924.

This will be the warmest October on record as well; we will have the final stats early tomorrow. We are forecasting a high of 88 degrees today; if this verifies it will beat the old Oct. 31 record high of 87, set in 1984.

About 20 percent of Halloweens in Birmingham have had highs in the 80s since 1900. Here are the top 10 highs for Oct. 31:

• 87 (1984)
• 86 (1937)
• 85 (1922)
• 85 (1950)
• 85 (1961)
• 85 (1998)
• 85 (2000)
• 84 (1919)
• 84 (1935)
• 83 (1974)

I wrote this blog post yesterday on the drought, historical perspective and thoughts on how it ends.

REST OF THE WEEK: Moisture levels will slowly increase Wednesday and Thursday, and with the approach of a cold front somebody somewhere might see a brief shower Thursday, but considering the lack of soil moisture, we will keep the forecast dry for now. The big change comes on Friday, when the high will drop into the 70s with a cool north breeze.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Sunny, pleasant days and clear, chilly nights. Highs in the 70s, lows in the 40s.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: For round one of the high school playoff games Friday night, the weather will be clear and very cool, with temperatures falling into the 50s. You will need a jacket.

Auburn will host Vanderbilt Saturday (11 a.m. kickoff). It will be a perfect day for football, with a sunny sky. Temperatures will climb from 68 at kickoff to near 72 by the fourth quarter.

Alabama will be on the road, playing LSU Saturday night (7 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be clear, with temperatures falling through the 60s. A great night for football.

NEXT WEEK: There is hope for a decent rain event toward midweek as suggested by the European model (ECMWF).

LONG RANGE: A pattern flip seems likely by mid-November, which will open the door for more frequent rain-producing systems. The ECMWF ensemble hints at potential for more than 5 inches of rain for Birmingham from mid-November to mid-December.

There is no skill in a specific forecast beyond seven days, but there is skill at pattern recognition, and this is encouraging.

AT THE BEACH: Sunny days, fair nights through the weekend from Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach. Highs around 80 through Thursday, and in the 70s Friday and over the weekend. See a detailed Gulf Coast forecast here.

TROPICS: The Atlantic basin is quiet, and tropical storm formation is not expected this week.

WEATHER BRAINS: You can listen to our weekly 90-minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including meteorologists at ABC 33/40. We will produce this week’s show tonight at 8:30. You can watch it live here.

CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks:

Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
Instagram

For more weather news and information, visit AlabamaWX.