COOL AIR ROLLING INTO THE STATE: The cold front that passed through early this morning is bringing a nice shot of cool, dry air into Alabama this afternoon. Temperatures are only in the 68- to 73-degree range with a fresh north breeze; the sky is partly sunny. Tonight will be clear and cool, with a low between 45 and 55 degrees. The last time Birmingham experienced a low below 50 degrees was May 14, when the low was 49.

THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: Look for delightful autumn weather with sunny, pleasant days and clear, cool nights. The high will be in the mid 70s Thursday, followed by upper 70s Friday and low 80s over the weekend. Many north and central Alabama communities will be in the 40s early Thursday morning; lows over the weekend will be mostly in the 50s.

NEXT WEEK: Dry weather continues with sunny days; highs will be between 81 and 85 degrees with lows mostly in the low 60s. For now we see no major chance of rain around here for the next seven to 10 days.

TROPICS: Rose and Peter are tropical depressions that will dissipate soon. The remnants of Odette are in the North Atlantic; there’s some chance it becomes organized again, but it will remain far from land. Invest 98L in the central Atlantic is expected to become a tropical depression or storm soon, but it will turn north before reaching the Leeward Islands and is no threat to the U.S.

The Gulf of Mexico is quiet and will stay quiet through the weekend and next week.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: We’ll have perfect weather for the high school games across Alabama Thursday and Friday — clear and cool, with temperatures falling through the 60s.

Here are the forecasts for the college games Saturday.

GEORGIA STATE AT AUBURN (3 p.m. kickoff at Jordan-Hare Stadium): A clear sky with temperatures falling from near 80 degrees at kickoff into the low 70s by the final whistle.

SOUTHERN MISS AT ALABAMA (6:30 p.m. kickoff at Bryant-Denny Stadium): Clear and very pleasant. Kickoff temperature near 78 degrees, falling into the upper 60s by the fourth quarter.

UAB AT TULANE (7 p.m. kickoff at Yulman Stadium in New Orleans): A clear sky with temperatures falling from 77 degrees at kickoff to near 70 by the final whistle.

UT-MARTIN AT JACKSONVILLE STATE (3 p.m. kickoff at Burgess-Snow Field): A beautiful day; the sky will be clear with temperatures falling from 79 degrees at kickoff to near 70 by the end of the game.

TROY AT LOUISIANA-MONROE (7 p.m. kickoff at Monroe, Louisiana): The sky will be clear with temperatures falling from near 80 at kickoff into the upper 60s by the final whistle.

ON THIS DATE IN 2006: Six tornadoes touched down across north Alabama. Three of them were in Blount County, others in Marshall and Colbert counties. An EF-2 in Blount County at Oneonta brought down numerous trees and power lines. Oneonta High School sustained significant damage to its football field press box, and two concession stands were destroyed. The high school also sustained roof damage. The Blount County Courthouse sustained roof damage and many flagpoles were broken. Several homes and outbuildings received major damage, and a gas station had its canopy blown off. Three people were injured, one seriously.

This was part of an outbreak of 48 tornadoes across the central U.S.; it was one of the most widespread non-tropical September outbreaks in United States history, yet no tornado-related deaths occurred.

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