James Spann forecasts fall weather for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

MUCH COOLER: A cold front passed through Alabama Monday, and temperatures today will be a good 10-20 degrees cooler for most communities. Areas north of Birmingham most likely won’t get out of the 60s; highs will be in the 70s over the southern two-thirds of the state. A deep, long-wave upper trough is approaching the state this morning; this feature is still producing clouds and showers in scattered pockets. The lingering showers will generally end by midday, with some sun possible this afternoon as the trough axis moves east. Additional rain amounts today should be less than one-quarter inch for most places.

REST OF THE WEEK: Look for sunny, pleasant days and clear, cool nights; the highs will be mostly in the mid 70s Wednesday and Thursday, but closer to 70 by Friday as a secondary surge of cool air arrives. Lows will be in the 40s and 50s.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday morning will be the coolest one so far this season with lows well down in the 40s; some of the colder valleys over north Alabama might even reach the upper 30s. Then we warm into the mid 70s by afternoon with a sunny sky. On Sunday an upper trough will bring some clouds into the state, and maybe even a few isolated showers. But moisture will be very limited, and at this point the chance of really meaningful rain looks low. The high Sunday will also be in the mid 70s.

NEXT WEEK: The quiet weather pattern continues with just a small risk of a shower Monday. Otherwise the week looks dry with highs mostly in the 70s and lows in the 50s.

RACE WEEKEND: The weather looks good for NASCAR fans. Look for sunny days and clear nights Thursday through Saturday at Talladega, with highs mostly in the 70s and lows in the 40s and 50s. The coolest morning will be early Saturday, when temperatures will drop into the 40- to 45-degree range. For the YellaWood 500 on Sunday, we expect a mix of sun and clouds with only a small risk of a light shower during the race. The high Sunday will be in the mid 70s.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: We’ll have perfect autumn weather for the high school games Friday night. The sky will be clear, with temperatures falling from the mid 60s at kickoff into the 50s by the second half.

Saturday, Alabama will host Texas A&M at Bryant-Denny Stadium (2:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be sunny with a kickoff temperature around 75 degrees, dropping to near 70 by the final whistle.

Auburn is on the road, taking on Georgia in Athens Saturday (6:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be clear; temperatures will fall from near 70 at kickoff to near 60 by the fourth quarter.

UAB has a home game Saturday at Legion Field (11:30 a.m. kickoff) against UTSA; the sky will be sunny with temperatures rising into the mid 70s during the game. It will be a perfect day for college football across the Deep South.

TROPICS: The Atlantic basin remains quiet for now, but the National Hurricane Center is now upping the chance of development in the western Caribbean to 50% by the end of the week or the weekend ahead. If anything forms in this region, it will most likely drift westward.

MONDAY’S RAIN: Rain totals across Alabama included:

• Weaver — 1.23 inches
• Jacksonville — 0.9
• Hueytown — 0.88
• Heflin — 0.77
• Jemison — 0.54
• Remlap — 0.47
• Huntsville — 0.42
• Mobile — 0.22
• Montgomery — 0.16
• Moody — 0.11
• Crestwood — 0.08
• Birmingham Airport — 0.06
• Muscle Shoals — 0.06

ON THIS DATE IN 1927: An outbreak of tornadoes from Oklahoma to Indiana caused 81 deaths and $25 million damage. A tornado, possibly two tornadoes, cut an eight-mile-long path across St Louis, Missouri, to Granite City, Illinois, killing 79 people.

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