James Spann forecasts a return to dry weather for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

RADAR CHECK: The band of strong storms is pushing through far south Alabama early this morning; just before daybreak most of the rain is south of a line from Roanoke to Linden. Rain will end across the southern counties of the state by mid-morning; elsewhere the sky will be mostly sunny as dry air returns. The high this afternoon will be in the mid 70s for most places; the average high for Birmingham on Oct. 13 is 77.FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: Friday will be sunny. After a low in the 40s, temperatures will rise quickly, with a high around 80 degrees. Saturday will be another warm, dry day with ample sunshine and a high in the low 80s. On Sunday, a surface front will bring the chance of a few scattered showers, but moisture will be limited, and rain amounts will be light and spotty. Otherwise, expect a mix of sun and clouds Sunday with a high between 77 and 81 degrees.

NEXT WEEK: An isolated shower can’t be ruled out Monday over the southern half of the state; otherwise the week is looking dry. The big story is the coolest air so far this season moving in by Tuesday. We expect widespread frost over the northern half of Alabama by Wednesday morning with lows in the 30s. Colder spots will see their first freeze of the season Wednesday. Highs will be generally in the 60s.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Expect another perfect night for high school football games across Alabama Friday night; the sky will be clear with temperatures falling from the mid 70s at kickoff into the 60s by the second half.

Saturday Auburn travels to Oxford to play Ole Miss (11 a.m. kickoff). The sky will be partly sunny, and there is an outside risk of a passing shower during the game. Temperatures will rise from near 78 at kickoff into the low 80s by the second half.

Alabama will take on Tennessee in Knoxville (2:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be partly sunny and the temperature about 77 degrees at kickoff, falling to near 70 by the final whistle.

UAB will host Charlotte at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham Saturday (2:30 p.m. kickoff). Expect a mostly sunny sky with temperatures about 82 at kickoff and upper 70s by the fourth quarter.

TROPICS: Tropical Storm Karl, with sustained winds of 50 mph this morning, will move into the coast of Mexico far south of Brownsville, Texas, Friday night.A tropical wave several hundred miles south of the Cabo Verde Islands (in the far eastern Atlantic) is producing a broad area of showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions appear marginally favorable for some slow development of this system as it moves westward to west-northwestward at 5-10 mph over the tropical Atlantic through early next week. There’s only a 20% chance of development over the next five days, and the rest of the Atlantic basin is very quiet.

WEDNESDAY’S RAIN: Some rain totals from our Skywatchers:

• Hueytown — 1.46 inches
• Rock Creek — 1.34
• Jemison — 1.23
• Crestwood — 1.2
• West Blocton — 1.19
• Coker — 1.17
• Carbon Hill — 0.86
• Chelsea — 0.85
• Fayette — 0.72

ON THIS DATE IN 2006: The October 2006 Buffalo storm was an unusual early-season lake effect snowstorm that hit the Buffalo, New York, area and other surrounding areas of the United States and Canada. Downtown Buffalo reported 15 inches.

ON THIS DATE IN 2011: Three tornadoes hit central and eastern Virginia. One of the EF1 tornadoes damaged the Sylvania Plantation home built in 1746. The storm peeled the roof off the house.

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.