James Spann: Cold front arrives in Alabama late Friday night
James Spann forecasts two more unseasonably warm days for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
STILL WARM THROUGH FRIDAY: An upper ridge over Alabama will keep us warm and dry Thursday and Friday; afternoon highs will remain in the 84- to 87-degree range, almost 10 degrees above average for mid-October. The average high for Oct. 14 at Birmingham is 77.
The long-awaited cold front will move into the northwest corner of the state late Friday night, and a narrow band of showers will accompany the frontal passage. The main window for showers will come from about 9 p.m. Friday through 4 a.m. Saturday; rain amounts will be less than a quarter-inch with only limited moisture available and limited dynamic support.
COOL CHANGE: Saturday will be mostly sunny and much cooler with a fresh north breeze of 10-20 mph. The high will be between 67 and 70 degrees, almost 10 degrees below average. With a clear sky and diminishing wind, we project a low early Sunday morning between 42 and 47 degrees. It is very possible some of the colder spots could reach the upper 30s for the first time this season.
Sunday will be a picture-perfect autumn day with a cobalt blue sky and low humidity. Sunday’s high will be very close to 70 degrees.
NEXT WEEK: Dry weather continues for the first half of the week with highs in the 70s; we will likely have a risk of rain by Thursday or Thursday night, followed by another shot of cooler air.
TROPICS: There is a weak disturbance east of the Bahamas this morning that is drifting westward; it is not expected to develop. The rest of the Atlantic basin, including the Gulf of Mexico, remains very quiet.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: We have one college game Thursday night.
GEORGIA SOUTHERN AT SOUTH ALABAMA (6:30 p.m. kickoff Thursday at Hancock Whitney Stadium): The sky will be fair with temperatures falling from 80 at kickoff through the 70s during the game.
For the high school games Friday night, it now looks like most stadiums will be dry; the best chance of showers will come after 10 p.m. The sky will be mostly cloudy with temperatures in the 70s.
For the college games Saturday:
AUBURN AT ARKANSAS (11 a.m. CT kickoff in Fayetteville): A beautiful fall day in Arkansas, with sunshine in full supply and temperatures rising from 62 at kickoff into the mid 60s by the second half.
SAMFORD AT WOFFORD: (2:30 p.m. CT kickoff in Spartanburg, South Carolina): Expect a partly sunny sky; a shower is possible late in the game. Temperatures will be in the 70s.
JACKSONVILLE STATE AT SAM HOUSTON STATE: (2 p.m. CT kickoff in Huntsville, Texas): A sunny day with temperatures falling from near 75 at kickoff into the upper 60s by the final whistle.
TROY AT TEXAS STATE: (2 p.m. CT kickoff in San Marcos, Texas): A cloudless sky; lots of sunshine with temperatures in the 70s.
UAB AT SOUTHERN MISS: (2:30 p.m. kickoff in Hattiesburg): It will be a sun-filled day; the temperature at kickoff will be near 73 degrees, falling into the upper 60s by the fourth quarter.
ALABAMA AT MISSISSIPPI STATE (6 p.m. kickoff in Starkville): Perfect football weather. A clear sky with temperatures falling from near 67 at kickoff into the 50s by the second half.
ON THIS DATE IN 1941: America’s first television weather forecast was broadcast on New York’s WNBT (later WNBC). There weren’t many televisions at that time, so viewers were limited to perhaps a few hundred people. The weathercast consisted of a sponsor’s message followed by a text screen containing the next day’s forecast.
ON THIS DATE IN 1984: Dense fog contributes to a 118-vehicle accident on I-94, just south of Milwaukee. At the time of the accident, the visibility was reportedly close to zero.
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