BLUE SKY: Temperatures remain about 20 degrees below average across Alabama this afternoon; most places are between 55 and 61 at mid-afternoon with a clear sky. Another freeze is likely tonight; most of the state is under a freeze warning again. We expect lows early Thursday generally between 25 and 35 degrees with widespread frost.THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: Expect sunny days and clear nights through Sunday with a warming trend. The high will be in the mid 60s Thursday, followed by 70s Friday and over the weekend. Colder spots will visit the 30s Friday morning; lows will be in the 40s and 50s Saturday and Sunday mornings.

NEXT WEEK: Monday will be dry with afternoon temperatures approaching 80 degrees, but a cold front will bring showers into the state Tuesday. It looks like rain amounts will be generally one-half inch or less, and the rest of the week will be dry with highs in the upper 60s and low 70s Wednesday through Friday.LOWS THIS MORNING: Here are some low temperatures across Alabama this morning:

• Tuckers Chapel — 24
• Margaret — 25
• Valley Head — 26
• Cottondale — 26
• Ethelsville — 26
• Remlap — 27
• Anniston — 28 (new record; the old record was 30, set in 1948)
• Hueytown — 28
• Calera — 28
• Tuscaloosa — 31
• Huntsville — 31
• Decatur — 31
• Geneva — 31
• Birmingham Airport — 32
• Jackson — 32
• Montgomery — 32 (new record; the old record was 34, set in 1948)
• Muscle Shoals — 34
• Dothan — 35
• Mobile — 39

TROPICS: All remains quiet across the Atlantic basin this afternoon, and tropical storm formation is not expected through next week. Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: South Alabama will host Troy in a Thursday night special (6:30 kickoff). The sky will be clear and the temperature about 66 degrees at kickoff, falling into the upper 50s by the fourth quarter, a perfect night for a big south Alabama battle.

It will be another great night for high school football games across Alabama Friday night; the sky will be clear with temperatures falling through the 60s.

UAB has a Friday night special this week; the Blazers travel to Bowling Green to take on Western Kentucky (kickoff at 7). The sky will be clear with temperatures falling from around 65 degrees at kickoff into the mid 50s by the final whistle.

Saturday, Jacksonville State hosts Southeastern Louisiana (1 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be sunny with temperatures in the mid 70s.

Alabama will host Mississippi State Saturday evening (kickoff at 6). The sky will be clear in Tuscaloosa with temperatures falling from near 74 at kickoff into the 60s during the second half.

ON THIS DATE IN 1996: The opening game of the World Series between the Braves and Yankees in New York was postponed by heavy rains and high wind from a major storm system affecting the East Coast, marking the third time in history that the World Series opener had been postponed.

ON THIS DATE IN 2007: A total of 87 tornadoes were reported in the United States Oct. 17-19, a new record outbreak for the month, according to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. The outbreak also contributed to the monthly total of 105 tornado reports – the second highest for October, behind the 117 tornadoes in October 2001. Three of the tornadoes touched down in northwest Alabama; they were short-lived.

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.