James Spann says the wait is almost over for cooler Alabama temperatures from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

ANOTHER WARM, DRY DAY AHEAD: With a mostly sunny sky, we are forecasting a high between 82 and 86 degrees across Alabama today. The average high for Birmingham on Oct. 4 is 81. The weather will stay warm and dry Thursday, but a cold front will pass through the state Friday. The sky will be occasionally cloudy, and we will mention the potential for a little light rain in spots, but with limited moisture and dynamic support, beneficial rain isn’t likely — certainly not the kind of rain event we need. Today will be the 18th consecutive day with no precipitation for Birmingham and much of the state.

COOL WEEKEND: The coolest air so far this season rolls into the state for the weekend; highs drop into the 60s over the northern counties with lows in the 40s by Sunday morning. South Alabama will experience highs in the low 70s and lows between 50 and 54 degrees. The air will be dry, and we expect a good supply of sunshine both days.

NEXT WEEK: The first half of the week will be dry with highs in the 70s. Global models are suggesting we will have a risk of rain by Thursday or Friday.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school games Friday night, there’s just an outside risk of a little light rain. Otherwise, it will be mostly cloudy with temperatures falling through the 60s and a fairly stiff north breeze.

Jacksonville State has a Wednesday night special this week at Middle Tennessee State in Murfreesboro (7 p.m. CT kickoff). The sky will be clear with temperatures falling through the 70s, reaching the 60s by the fourth quarter.

Saturday, Alabama will be in College Station to take on Texas A&M (2:30 p.m. CT kickoff). The temperature will be about 73 degrees at kickoff with a mostly sunny sky. It will be a very pleasant afternoon.

UAB will host USF Saturday at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham (3 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be sunny with temperatures falling from near 68 at kickoff into the low 60s by the final whistle.

TROPICS: Just one tropical cyclone is on the map this morning, Philippe. The system is disorganized with winds of 45 mph. The broad center is about 150 miles north/northwest of St. Thomas. Philippe is expected to remain below hurricane strength, moving northward. It will pass near Bermuda Friday afternoon, then reach either the coast of Maine or Nova Scotia over the weekend as a post-tropical system.

The rest of the Atlantic basin is quiet this morning, and no tropical systems are expected near the Gulf of Mexico through the weekend.

ON THIS DATE IN 1957: The world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik, was launched by the Soviet Union. Sputnik was about the size of a beach ball and weighed 183.9 pounds. It took about 98 minutes to orbit Earth on an elliptical path.

ON THIS DATE IN 1995: Opal made landfall at Pensacola Beach as a Category 3 hurricane with top sustained winds of 115 mph. Opal at that time was the first major hurricane to strike the Florida Panhandle since Eloise in 1975. Opal’s legacy will always be the devastating storm surge that occurred across the coastal areas of the western Florida Panhandle. Storm surge of 10-15 feet was recorded from Navarre Beach east to Destin, with 6-8 feet observed in the inland bays from Pensacola to Choctawhatchee Bay. Opal destroyed most of the homes that were facing the Gulf of Mexico from Navarre Beach to east of Destin.

Opal was a high-impact event for most inland parts of Alabama. Rainfall measured at the Birmingham Airport reached 6.94 inches for the day, with major flooding in parts of the city. There were two storm-related deaths in Gadsden, in Etowah County, when high wind toppled a massive oak tree onto a mobile home.

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