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

DRY DAYS: October is the driest month of the year in Alabama based on averages, and this year the month is starting off with a long dry spell — no rain through Sunday with sunny days and clear nights. Temperatures rise into the upper 70s today, but a secondary surge of cooler air arrives tonight, and the high Friday will be in the low 70s. Early morning temperatures will drop well down into the 40s over the northern half of the state Friday morning, and by Saturday morning some of the colder spots could see upper 30s for the first time this year.

We are forecasting a high in the mid 70s Saturday and Sunday; humidity values will remain low and it will be hard to find a cloud in the sky — picture-perfect autumn weather.

NEXT WEEK: Dry air means no rain through the week, with sunny, pleasant days and fair, cool nights. Look for upper 70s Monday and Tuesday, followed by low 80s Wednesday through Friday. Lows will be mostly in the 50s and 60s.

TROPICS: The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two tropical waves; one of them is in the central Caribbean. A broad area of low pressure is expected to form in a day or so over the northwest Caribbean Sea or the extreme southern Gulf of Mexico in the vicinity of the wave as it moves slowly west-northwestward. Conditions are forecast to be conducive for development thereafter in that region, and a tropical depression could form over the weekend as the system meanders. The NHC is giving it a 70% chance of becoming a depression over the next five days.

The other wave is approaching the Windward Islands and has only a 20% chance of development through the weekend. For now it seems unlikely that either of these will affect the northern Gulf of Mexico or the central Gulf Coast region.

RACE WEEKEND: The weather looks good for NASCAR fans. Look for sunny days and clear nights Thursday through Saturday at Talladega, with highs 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 mostly 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 74 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 low to mid 70s during the game. It will be a perfect day for college football across the Deep South.

Jacksonville State is on the road, taking on Florida State in Tallahassee (3 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly sunny, with temperatures falling from the upper 70s at kickoff to near 70 by the final whistle.

ON THIS DATE ONE YEAR AGO: An autumn heat wave was cranking up across the Deep South. Birmingham’s high was 99; we would reach 101 degrees on Oct. 3, the hottest temperature on record for the month of October.

ON THIS DATE IN 1893: The village of Caminadaville, Louisiana, was destroyed by a massive hurricane. In the late 19th century Caminadaville was a vibrant fishing community on Cheniere Caminada, adjacent to Grand Isle in coastal Jefferson Parish. It took five days for the news of this devastating hurricane to reach New Orleans.

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