James Spann forecasts more dry weather, cooler weekend for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

WARM AFTERNOONS, COOL NIGHTS: Dry air heats and cools very effectively; many spots across Alabama are in the 40s this morning, but temperatures will rise into the low to mid 80s this afternoon with a sunny sky. That 40-degree rise from morning low to afternoon high can happen only when the air is very dry like this. The weather won’t change Friday, but the weekend will be noticeably cooler, as afternoon temperatures won’t get past the low to mid 70s both days. Sunday morning will be chilly, with a low between 37 and 44 degrees. Colder valleys across north Alabama might even see a touch of light frost for the first time this season.

NEXT WEEK: The weather won’t change much; we do note globals hint at a chance of some light rain now along a cold front that will pass through the state Thursday, Oct. 13. Otherwise, the week will be dry with temperatures reaching the low 80s by midweek before the surge of cooler air following the front on Thursday.

Some notes on the dry conditions (based on data at Birmingham):

• Today is the 11th consecutive day with no measurable rain.
• Our last measurable rain was on Sept. 25, but the amount was only 0.03 inch.
• We have gone without measurable rain on 25 of the last 26 days.
• The last day with more than one-tenth of an inch of rain was Sept. 4, when the total was 1.55 inches.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Expect another delightful evening for high school football games across the state Friday night; the sky will be clear with temperatures falling through the 60s.

Auburn travels to Athens Saturday to take on the Georgia Bulldogs (2:30 p.m. CT kickoff). The sky will be sunny and the temperature about 76 degrees at kickoff, falling to near 70 by the final whistle.

UAB has a home game in downtown Birmingham Saturday at Protective Stadium against Middle Tennessee (also a 2:30 p.m. kickoff). It will be a sunny afternoon with temperatures falling from around 73 degrees at kickoff into the upper 60s by the final whistle.

Saturday night, Alabama hosts Texas A&M (kickoff at 7) at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa. The sky will be clear with temperatures falling from 67 degrees at kickoff into the 50s by the fourth quarter. It will be a perfect night for football.

TROPICS: Tropical Depression 12 in the eastern Atlantic is expected to dissipate today far from land.

An area of low pressure (Invest 91L) over the far southeastern Caribbean Sea is producing a large area of showers and thunderstorms over the southern Windward Islands, northern South America and adjacent waters. Satellite-derived wind data indicate that this system does not yet have a well-defined center of circulation. While land interaction with the northern coast of South America may hinder significant development during the next day or so, environmental conditions are expected to be mostly conducive for development as the system moves generally westward, and a tropical depression is likely to form in the next couple of days by the time the system enters the south-central Caribbean Sea.

This system is headed for Central America; it remains to be seen whether the remnants will move into the Pacific or curve northward toward the Bay of Campeche (the far southwest Gulf of Mexico). The system could also completely dissipate over Central America. It’s still just something to watch for now.ON THIS DATE IN 1981: The Netherlands’ fourth-worst aircraft accident (at the time) occurred. At 5:09 p.m., the crew noted heavy rainfall in thunderstorms on the weather avoidance radar and received clearance to avoid this area. At 5:12 p.m., the aircraft entered a tornado, which caused the right wing to separate from the plane. All 17 occupants of the plane perished in the accident.

ON THIS DATE IN 2016: The center of Category 4 Hurricane Matthew passed within 100 miles of Miami.

BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.