James Spann says rain chances increase for portions of Alabama ahead of cooler temperatures from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

BIG CHANGES AHEAD: A cold front is approaching Alabama; we note a large area of rain ahead of the front this morning over parts of west Tennessee and the Mississippi Delta. We actually have a few sprinkles over the northwest corner of our state just before sunrise. Today will be mostly cloudy, and we will bring in the chance of light rain for the northwest counties this afternoon as the front gets closer. The high today will be in the low 80s for most communities; the average high for Birmingham on Oct. 5 is 80.

Showers are possible statewide tonight and Friday as the front moves through. Rain amounts will be light, generally less than one-quarter inch for most places — not enough to be really beneficial, but at least the dust will be settled for some communities. Today will be the 19th consecutive day with no rain for Birmingham and much of the state.

COOL WEEKEND: The coolest air so far this season will roll into the Deep South following the front over the weekend. Highs drop into the 60s over the northern half of the state, with lows well down in the 40s by daybreak Sunday. Even south Alabama will see lows between 48 and 52 degrees. The air will be dry, and we expect a good supply of sunshine both days. Saturday will feature a brisk north wind of 10-20 mph.

NEXT WEEK: Dry weather continues for the first half of the week. Monday morning will feature lows in the 40s over the northern half of the state; then we trend warmer, with highs back between 75 and 80 degrees for the rest of the week. Models suggest a chance of rain for south Alabama Thursday and statewide Thursday night and Friday. It’s too early to know how much rain will fall.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school games Friday night, a few widely scattered showers are possible. Otherwise, it will be mostly cloudy with temperatures falling through the 60s and a fairly stiff north breeze.

Saturday, Alabama will be in College Station to take on Texas A&M (2:30 p.m. CT kickoff). The temperature will be about 72 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 67 at kickoff into the low 60s by the final whistle. The afternoon will be breezy with a north wind of 10-20 mph.

TROPICS: Tropical Storm Philippe remains disorganized with winds of only 40 mph. The broad circulation center is about 500 miles south of Bermuda, where a tropical storm warning is in effect. Philippe will move near Bermuda Friday; after that, it becomes post-tropical and will move into the coast of Maine over the weekend.

Elsewhere, a low-latitude tropical wave is expected to move off the west coast of Africa Friday. Thereafter, some slow development of this system is possible as it moves westward to west-northwestward across the eastern tropical Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center gives it a 30% chance of development over the next seven days.

ON THIS DATE IN 1864: A tropical cyclone hit India near Calcutta, devastating the city and killing about 60,000 people.

ON THIS DATE IN 1972: Tropical Storm Joanne, earlier a hurricane, moved across the Baja California peninsula and came ashore in western Mexico south of Ajo. The storm brought heavy rain and flooding to much of Arizona. This storm is the first documented tropical storm to reach Arizona with its cyclonic circulation intact. More than 5 inches of rain was reported on the Mogollon rim southeast of Flagstaff.

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