James Spann forecasts a long stretch of dry, pleasant October weather from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

COLDEST SO FAR: For many communities, this is the coolest morning so far this season. Some temperatures just before sunrise:

• Black Creek — 41
• Heflin — 44
• Gadsden — 45
• Cullman — 45
• Grayson Valley — 45
• Hueytown — 46
• Pell City — 46
• Clanton — 46
• Weaver — 46
• Albertville — 46
• Selma — 46
• Bessemer — 47
• Decatur — 47
• Sylacauga — 47
• Alexander City — 47
• Huntsville — 48
• Anniston — 48
• Prattville — 49
• Northport — 49
• Tuscaloosa — 50
• Muscle Shoals — 50
• Montgomery — 51
• Mobile — 52

Today will feature sunshine in full supply; the high will be in the mid to upper 70s.

THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: Dry weather continues. A fresh surge of cool, dry air arrives Friday, and that could push some of the colder spots into the upper 30s early Saturday morning. Look for sunny days and fair nights through Saturday. A few scattered clouds will show up Sunday with an upper trough passing through, but for now the air looks too dry for any rain across the state. Highs will be mostly in the 70s, with lows generally in the 40s and 50s.

NEXT WEEK: Dry weather continues; October is usually our driest month of the year, so long dry spells are common this time of the year. Highs next week will be in the upper 70s and low 80s, with lows mostly in the 50s.

TROPICS: A tropical wave now has some potential to become a tropical depression or storm in three to five days as it moves into the western Caribbean. Most likely it drifts westward toward the Yucatan Peninsula and the Bay of Campeche.

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 partly sunny sky with a high 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.

ON THIS DATE IN 1896: A hurricane that formed on Sept. 22 lasted until Sept. 30. It formed directly over the Lesser Antilles and hit Cuba, Florida, Georgia, South and North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Its maximum sustained winds were at 130 mph. The heaviest rainfall deposited in association with the storm was 19.96 inches at Glennville, Georgia. This hurricane was responsible for an estimated 130 deaths and $1.5 million in damage (in 1896 dollars).

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