DRY DAYS CONTINUE: Today will be the 24th consecutive day with no rain for Birmingham and much of Alabama as the long dry spell continues. Look for sunny, warm afternoons and clear, cool nights through Friday. Temperatures rise into the mid 80s Thursday and Friday, not far from record levels. Here are the record highs for Birmingham on those days:

• Oct. 24 — 86 (1927)
• Oct. 25 — 88 (1927)

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday will stay dry and warm, with a high in the mid 80s. On Sunday, a surface front will drift into north Alabama. Some global models suggest there could be just enough moisture for a few isolated showers over the northern third of the state, but for now we will keep the forecast dry due to very low precipitable water values. For now, we will forecast a partly sunny sky Sunday with a high in the low 80s.

NEXT WEEK: Again, some global models hint at a few isolated showers Monday as the surface front drifts southward, but meaningful rain isn’t likely with very limited moisture. The rest of the week looks dry with highs in the 70s and lows in the 50s.

TROPICS: Oscar is a very disorganized tropical storm with winds of 40 mph near the southeastern Bahamas. It is moving northeast and is expected to become post tropical over the next 24 hours. The rest of the Atlantic basin is very quiet, but hurricane season does run through November.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Expect a clear sky for the high school games across Alabama Friday night with temperatures falling through the 70s during the first half, reaching the 60s by the fourth quarter.

Saturday, UAB will host Tulsa at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham (1:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be partly to mostly sunny with temperatures in the low to mid 80s.

Alabama hosts Missouri at Saban Field/Bryant Denny Stadium (2:30 p.m. kickoff). The afternoon in Tuscaloosa will be dry and warm, about 85 degrees at kickoff. Temperatures fall into the 70s by the final whistle.

Auburn will travel to Lexington to take on Kentucky (6:45 p.m. CT kickoff). The sky will be mostly fair with temperatures falling from near 62 at kickoff into the mid 50s by the final whistle.

ON THIS DATE IN 1997: Game 4 of the World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Florida Marlins was the coldest game in World Series history. The official game-time temperature was 38 degrees at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Wind chills as low as 18 degrees were reported during the game.

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