SUMMER IN OCTOBER: As expected, we have a good supply of sunshine across Alabama this afternoon with temperatures in the 88- to 91-degree range for most communities. Showers are just about impossible to find. The weather won’t change much over the weekend with mostly sunny days, fair nights and only isolated afternoon showers. Highs will be close to 90 Saturday and in the upper 80s Sunday.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: For high school games across the state tonight, the sky will be clear with temperatures falling through the 70s.
Alabama travels to Fayetteville to take on Arkansas Saturday morning (11 a.m. kickoff). The sky will be occasionally cloudy, and a brief passing shower or thunderstorm is possible. Temperatures will rise into the low 80s during the game.
Auburn will be on the road as well, playing Mississippi State in Starkville Saturday evening (6:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly fair with temperatures falling from the low 80s at kickoff into the mid 70s by the final whistle.
UAB will take on Louisiana Tech Saturday evening (6 p.m. kickoff) in Ruston, Louisiana. A few isolated showers are possible during the first half; otherwise, look for mostly fair weather with temperatures falling from the mid 80s into the 70s by the second half.
NEXT WEEK: The upper ridge slowly weakens as a pattern change begins. We will mention widely scattered afternoon showers and storms Monday and Tuesday, followed by higher rain chances over the latter half of the week. It now looks like we will have a tropical system in the Gulf, which makes for a confidence forecast. How that system behaves will greatly determine our weather in five to seven days. Highs will drop to near 80 late in the week.
TROPICS: Tropical Storm Leslie in the Atlantic will stay far from land, but eyes are now on Invest 91L in the western Caribbean. The National Hurricane Center gives the system a 70 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression or storm over the next five days as it moves slowly into the southern Gulf of Mexico.
It is way too early to know the track and intensity of the system over the Gulf of Mexico next week; we have model spread all the way from Gulf Shores to Tampa. It is simply something to watch closely now, especially for interests on the coast from Mobile Bay down to Tampa Bay.
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