FINE FALL WEATHER: The advertised “cool change” is making most Alabamians happy this afternoon. With a cobalt blue sky, temperatures are 5 to 10 degrees below average with very low humidity levels.

Tonight will be chilly; we drop into the mid 40s by daybreak tomorrow. The last time Birmingham had a temperature below 50 degrees was back on May 8, when the low was 49.

TOMORROW THROUGH FRIDAY: Fantastic fall weather continues with sunny, pleasant days and clear, cool nights, and low humidity levels. Highs mostly in the 70s, lows in the 40s and 50s.

THE WEEKEND: Winds will veer to the south over the weekend, but it looks like we stay dry Saturday and most of the day Sunday with a partly sunny sky both days. Highs will be in the 77- to 80-degree range. We will bring in a chance of showers Sunday night and Monday of next week ahead of an approaching cold front. Looks like rain amounts will be relatively light, generally under one-quarter inch for most places.

REST OF NEXT WEEK: Another surge of cool, dry air blows in here by midweek, and it looks like temperatures for the rest of October will remain below average around here.

RAIN UPDATE: Birmingham’s rain total since Jan. 1 is 60.93 inches, a surplus of 18.28 inches and well over the average rain amount we see in an entire year.

TROPICS: A disturbance east of the Bahamas has a 40 percent chance of developing over the next 48 hours, but it will recurve into the Atlantic east of the United States. The rest of the Atlantic basin is quiet.

BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page

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For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.