DRY DAYS CONTINUE: There’s still no sign of any meaningful rain for Alabama for the next seven to 10 days. Expect sunny, warm afternoons and clear, cool nights through the weekend, with highs mostly in the upper 70s and low 80s, although the southern third of the state will see mid 80s. Morning lows will be in the 50s over north Alabama, with 60s to the south.

Another dry cold front will move through the state Monday, and that will bring the coolest air so far this season in about a week. Highs drop into the 60s, with lows in the 40s. Some of the colder spots across north Alabama will be in the upper 30s for the first time this season.

TROPICS: Milton remains a catastrophic Category 5 hurricane early this morning with winds of 160 mph. The hurricane is about 300 miles southwest of Tampa and is moving to the northeast at 14 mph. Landfall comes after midnight tonight very close to Tampa Bay; the National Hurricane Center (NHC) is now forecasting winds of 140 mph as the hurricane moves onshore. Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida. A storm surge of 10-15 feet is forecast along and south of where the circulation center makes landfall.

The system will likely maintain hurricane strength as it moves across the Florida Peninsula Thursday morning; hurricane-force winds are likely at Orlando, Melbourne and Daytona Beach. This is a very high-impact, life-threatening hurricane; long-duration power outages are likely.

Elsewhere, Hurricane Leslie is in the middle of the Atlantic with winds of 80 mph; it turns north today and is no threat to land. Also, showers and thunderstorms associated with a gale-force nontropical low-pressure system northeast of the northwestern Bahamas continue to become better organized. Although environmental conditions appear only marginally favorable for additional development, a short-lived tropical or subtropical storm could form today or this evening while the low moves northeastward to east-northeastward at around 15 mph. Upper-level winds are forecast to increase later tonight, which should limit any chances for further development. The NHC gives this a 50% chance of short-term development.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Tonight, Jacksonville State hosts New Mexico State (kickoff at 6:30). The sky will be clear with temperatures falling through the 70s.

Expect a clear sky for the high school games across Alabama Friday night with temperatures falling from the low 70s at kickoff into the 60s during the second half.

Saturday, Alabama hosts South Carolina (11 a.m. kickoff) at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The sky will be sunny with temperatures rising from near 77 at kickoff into the low 80s by the final whistle.

UAB is on the road, playing Army in West Point, New York (11 a.m. CT kickoff). The weather will be dry. With a sunny sky, temperatures rise from 68 degrees at kickoff into the low 70s by the fourth quarter.

ON THIS DATE IN 2001: An unusually strong fall outbreak of tornadoes spawned at least 23 twisters across parts of Nebraska and Oklahoma. Hardest hit was the town of Cordell, Oklahoma, but a 22-minute lead time led to an amazingly low casualty count: only nine injuries and no fatalities.

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