James Spann: Dry air = severe clear for Alabama
NOT A CLOUD: It is a cloudless sky across Alabama and the adjacent states this afternoon as a very dry air mass has settled into the region. The humidity is low and temperatures are mostly in the mid 70s. The average high for Birmingham on Sept. 30 is 80. Tonight will be clear and cool with lows generally in the 50s, but colder spots will go down in the 40s again.
THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: The weather stays dry with sunny, pleasant days and clear, cool nights. The high will be in the upper 70s Thursday but will drop near 70 Friday as a new surge of cool air arrives. Expect low 70s Saturday and mid 70s Sunday. Morning lows will be in the 40s and 50s; some of the colder spots across north Alabama could reach the upper 30s for the first time this season Saturday morning.
NEXT WEEK: The long dry spell continues. For now we see no meaningful chance of rain through the week with highs around 80 and lows in the 50s and 60s.
TROPICS: A tropical wave has 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. The National Hurricane Center gives it a 60% chance of development this afternoon.
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 68 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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