James Spann forecasts the hottest October day on record for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

HEAT WAVE ROLLS ALONG: We are projecting a high of 96 in Birmingham today. If we reach that, it will be hottest October day on record. The current record for the month is 94, recorded on Oct. 1, 1919; Oct. 5, 1927; Oct. 6, 1941, and Oct. 6, 1954.

Daily record highs are likely through Thursday as the strong upper high remains parked across the Deep South. Highs will hold in the mid to upper 90s as the “endless summer” continues. Friday’s high will be in the low to mid 90s, just a degree or two lower. The chance of a cooling shower each day remains very small.

FINALLY, A BREAK: The upper high breaks down over the weekend. Saturday will be partly sunny with only isolated showers and a high around 90, but on Sunday showers become more likely, and the high will be in the 80s. Then, with the approach of a cold front, rain is likely at times Sunday night into Monday, and we won’t get out of the 70s Monday as temperatures go below average for a change. Rain amounts Sunday and Monday should be around one-half inch, with isolated amounts to 1 inch — not a drought buster, but beneficial nonetheless.

REST OF NEXT WEEK: For now it looks dry with sunny, comfortable days and fair, cool nights Tuesday through Friday; highs will be mostly in the upper 70s with lows in the upper 50s.

TROPICS: Hurricane Lorenzo, in the Atlantic, is packing sustained winds of 100 mph and will pass by the western Azores tonight. It becomes post-tropical later in the week. The National Hurricane Center is also monitoring two tropical waves. One, north of Hispaniola, will move northeast; another, near Jamaica, will move northwest, toward the far southern Gulf of Mexico. Conditions don’t favor development in either region for now.

NUMBER TWO: The month that ended Monday was the second-warmest September on record for Birmingham. Here are the top five (based on average temperature):

• 1925 — 84.2
• 2019 — 82.1
• 1921 — 81.7
• 2018 — 81.4
• 1931 — 81

ON THIS DATE IN 1890: The weather service is first identified as a civilian agency when Congress, at the request of President Benjamin Harrison, passes an act transferring the meteorological responsibilities of the Signal Service to the newly created U.S. Weather Bureau in the Department of Agriculture.

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