James Spann: Warm afternoons, dry days for Alabama
DRY, DUSTY OCTOBER DAYS: Today will be the 25th consecutive day without rain for Birmingham and a decent part of Alabama. With a sunny sky, temperatures rise into the 80- to 84-degree range for most communities this afternoon; the average high for Birmingham on Oct. 23 is 73.
The weather stays dry Thursday through Saturday with highs in the mid 80s, a little more than 10 degrees above average and not far from the daily record highs. Expect sunny days and fair, pleasant nights with lows generally in the 50s.
A surface front will creep southward through Alabama Sunday and Monday, and it might squeeze out an isolated shower or two, but we expect no meaningful rain, and most places will stay dry. Highs drop back into the mid to upper 70s on both days.
The rest of next week looks dry with highs between 76 and 80 degrees and lows mostly in the 50s. It will be early November before we see our next chance of significant rain.
TROPICS: The Atlantic basin is quiet, and tropical storm formation is not expected for at least the next seven days. Hurricane season ends Nov. 30.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: Tonight, Jacksonville State will host MTSU at AmFirst Stadium/Burgess-Snow Field (6:30 kickoff). The sky will be clear; temperatures will fall from near 80 degrees at kickoff into the upper 60s by the final whistle.
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 the annual Magic City Classic kicks off at 2:30 p.m. at Legion Field in Birmingham (Alabama State vs. Alabama A&M). The sky will be partly to mostly sunny; expect low to mid 80s through the first half, falling to near 80 degrees by the end of the game.
UAB will host Tulsa Saturday 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 in 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 1947: Fish fell from the sky in Marksville, Louisiana. Thousands of fish fell in an area 1,000 feet long by 80 feet wide, possibly due to a waterspout.
ON THIS DATE IN 2015: Hurricane Patricia became the most powerful tropical cyclone ever measured in the Western Hemisphere as its maximum sustained winds reached an unprecedented 200 mph and its central pressure fell to 879 millibars (25.96 inches of mercury).
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