James Spann forecasts a warm weekend for Alabama before a big temperature drop from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

BIG WARM-UP: Temperatures are between 35 and 45 degrees over the northern half of the state early this morning, but look for a big warm-up today with highs approaching 80 degrees this afternoon. The air is very dry, and the sky will be sunny.

Saturday will be another sunny, warm day; the high will be in the low 80s. Most of the state stays warm and dry Sunday, but a few isolated showers could pop up late in the day across the northern quarter of the state ahead of a cold front. Moisture will be very limited, and most places will stay dry. Sunday’s high will be in the low 80s, about 7 degrees above average for mid-October.

NEXT WEEK: The coldest air so far this season rolls into Alabama. Monday will feature a partly sunny sky with a high in the low 70s, but on Tuesday expect a high between 54 and 59 degrees with a very cool north breeze. Temperatures will drop into the 25- to 35-degree range early Wednesday and Thursday mornings over the northern two-thirds of the state; for many places it will be the first freeze of the season. Frost will be widespread, even down into parts of south Alabama. Temperatures begin to warm up late in the week, with highs back in the low 70s by Friday, and the week will be rain-free.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Expect another perfect night for high school football games across Alabama tonight; the sky will be clear with temperatures falling from the mid 70s at kickoff into the 60s by the second half.

Saturday Auburn travels to Oxford to play Ole Miss (11 a.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly sunny. Temperatures will rise from near 78 at kickoff into the low 80s by the second half.

Alabama will take on Tennessee in Knoxville (2:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly sunny and the temperature about 77 degrees at kickoff, falling to near 70 by the final whistle.

UAB will host Charlotte at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham Saturday (2:30 p.m. kickoff). Expect a mostly sunny sky with temperatures about 82 at kickoff and upper 70s by the fourth quarter.

TROPICS: Tropical Storm Karl is a weak system in the far southwest Gulf of Mexico (the Bay of Campeche). Winds have dropped to 40 mph, and landfall comes tonight on the southern coast of Mexico, far south of Texas.An area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms several hundred miles south of the Cabo Verde Islands (the far eastern Atlantic) is associated with a tropical wave. Environmental conditions appear marginally conducive for some gradual development during the next few days while the system moves westward and then west-northwestward at about 10 mph. However, the disturbance is expected to move into a less favorable area of stronger upper-level winds by early next week. The National Hurricane Center gives it only a 20% chance of development over the next five days.

The rest of the Atlantic basin is very quiet.

ON THIS DATE IN 1941: America’s first television weather forecast was broadcast on New York’s WNBT (later WNBC). There weren’t many televisions at that time, so viewers were limited to perhaps a few hundred people. The weathercast consisted of a sponsor’s message followed by a text screen containing the next day’s forecast.

ON THIS DATE IN 1984: Dense fog contributed to a 118-vehicle accident on I-94, just south of Milwaukee. At the time of the accident, the visibility was reportedly close to zero.

BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.

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