James Spann: Delightful fall weather coming to Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

ON THE MAPS: A cold front was nearing the U.S. 80 corridor early this morning, and a band of showers continued ahead of the front.

Temperatures are in the 40s and 50s behind the front, with 70s south of the front over the southern counties of the state. The surface front will push all the way through Alabama by this evening, setting up a delightful week of weather.

The sky becomes mostly sunny today with a cool north wind of 12-22 mph; the high over north and central Alabama will be in the 65- to 70-degree range. Tonight will be clear and cool, with temperatures in the 40s by daybreak tomorrow.

TOMORROW THOUGH FRIDAY: Picture-perfect fall weather continues with sunny, pleasant days and clear, cool nights. Highs will be mostly in the 70s, lows in the 40s and 50s. Doesn’t get any better.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Global model data suggests that while some rain will be possible west of the state, over parts of Louisiana, Arkansas and Texas, we will stay rain-free with a good supply of sunshine both days. Highs 77-80, lows 58-62. Partly sunny days, fair nights.

NEXT WEEK: Another cold front will likely move through early in the week with some potential for a few showers, followed by more cool air over the latter half of the week.

TROPICS: A disturbance east of the Bahamas has some chance of development in coming days, but the upper trough will push that feature out to sea; no threat to the United States. And “post tropical cyclone Ophelia” will move over Ireland today. The rest of the Atlantic basin is quiet. Hurricane season runs through the end of November.

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.

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

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
Pinterest
Snapchat: spannwx

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