James Spann forecasts a beautiful weekend for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

RADAR CHECK: We have some light rain early this morning over parts of west and north Alabama behind a cold front that is now over the southern part of the state. The rain will end within the next couple of hours, and the sky becomes sunny by late morning as much cooler air rolls into the Deep South. The high today will be only in the mid 60s; the average high for Birmingham on Oct. 16 is 75. A northwest wind of 10-20 mph will make it feel cooler.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: For some, Saturday will be the coldest morning so far this season. We project lows between 34 and 42 degrees for most communities, with potential for some scattered light frost. We rise to near 70 degrees Saturday afternoon with sunshine in full supply. Sunday will be a sunny day with a high in the mid 70s. It will be a fabulous fall weekend.

NEXT WEEK: The weather will be dry Monday and Tuesday with warm afternoons; highs will be close to 80. A few isolated showers could pop up Wednesday and Thursday, but most places will stay dry. An approaching cold front will bring a chance of showers on Friday, but for now it looks like amounts will be light. Cooler air arrives the following weekend (Oct. 24-25).

TROPICS: The National Hurricane Center will be monitoring two areas over the next five days with some potential for development. One is over the southwest Caribbean and another is east of Bermuda in the Atlantic. We expect no tropical trouble for the Gulf of Mexico through next week. Hurricane season for the Atlantic basin runs through the end of November.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Tonight will be cool and dry for high school football games across Alabama. The sky will be clear, with temperatures falling from the upper 50s at kickoff into the upper 40s by the final whistle.

Saturday, Auburn travels to South Carolina to take on the Gamecocks in Columbia (11 a.m. CT kickoff). The sky will be sunny, with temperatures rising from 62 at kickoff into the mid 60s by the fourth quarter.

UAB will host Western Kentucky at Legion Field Saturday (12:30 p.m. kickoff). Look for sunshine in full supply, with temperatures rising from 66 at kickoff to near 70 by the final whistle.

Alabama hosts Georgia at Bryant-Denny Stadium Saturday (7 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be clear, with temperatures falling from near 65 at kickoff into the mid 50s by the end of the game.

ON THIS DATE IN 1944: The Cuba-Florida hurricane, also known as the Pinar del Rio Hurricane, struck western Cuba as a Category 4. This storm killed an estimated 300 people in Cuba and nine in Florida. This hurricane is the seventh costliest U.S. Atlantic hurricane, with an estimated $46.9 billion in damages.

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