HIGH CLOUDS, DRY BELOW: The subtropical jet stream is pushing mid- and high-level clouds over Alabama this afternoon.

Under those clouds the air is very dry, with dewpoints in the 30s in most places, and there is no rain on radar. Temperatures are mostly in the 60s.

Today is the 54th consecutive day with no measurable rain at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Airport.

A drought emergency remains in effect for all 67 Alabama counties. Remember: NO outdoor burning. It is illegal for any person to set fire to any forest, grass, woods, wildlands or marshes; to build a campfire or bonfire; or to burn trash or other material that may cause a forest, grass or woods fire.

THE WEEKEND: Still dry. Partly sunny days, fair nights. Highs in the 60s, lows in the 30s and 40s.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school playoff games tonight, fair with temperatures falling from the low 60s at kickoff into the low 50s by the second half.

Alabama hosts Mississippi State tomorrow (11 a.m. kickoff). The sky will be sunny, with temperatures rising from near 62 at kickoff to 68 by the fourth quarter.

Auburn travels to Athens, Ga., to take on the Georgia Bulldogs (2:30 p.m. kickoff). A perfect day for football tomorrow — about 65 degrees at kickoff, dropping back into the upper 50s by the final whistle.

NEXT WEEK: Still dry through Thursday. By next Thursday, Nov. 17, we will have gone 60 consecutive days with no measurable rain. But global models are in good agreement with a cold front pushing in here late Friday night, Nov 18, and Saturday morning, Nov. 19.

This certainly won’t be a drought buster, but cold fronts in November usually do offer some rain, and sometimes thunderstorms. We will have a much better look at this setup early next week as the event gets closer; for now it doesn’t look like a severe weather threat. We will take any rain we can get.

LONG RANGE: Data from the European ensemble continues to suggest more than 5 inches of rain for Birmingham from Nov. 20 through Dec. 25.

AT THE BEACH: Mostly sunny days and fair nights on the coast from Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach through next week, with highs in the 70s. See a detailed Gulf Coast forecast here.

TROPICS: Tropical storm formation is not expected across the Atlantic basin through next 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.

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.