JAMES SPANN UPDATE: The good news in the weather department is that the Big Boss will be back in the saddle Friday. The man is amazing. But you already knew that…

TODAY: A surface low over the Gulf of Mexico is weakening, and as it loses its influence today, sunshine will increase across Alabama, especially the northern third of the state, making for a nice day. High temperatures will be in the lower 70s over the northern half of Alabama, with a few upper 60s over east central Alabama thanks to the remaining vestiges of an easterly wedge.

FRIDAY: A cold front will be approaching our state from the northwest on Friday. Showers will be scarcer than hen’s teeth. High temperatures will be in the upper 60s in the northwest and lower 70s elsewhere. The front will reach northwest Alabama by evening, sweeping southeastward overnight and ending up near Panama City by Saturday morning. Lows will be in the upper 40s to lower 50s Friday night.

WEEKEND OUTLOOK: Saturday and Sunday won’t be bad, with a good supply of sunshine both days. Highs will be in the lower and middle 60s. Overnight lows will reach the 30s over the northern half of Alabama with some lower 40s to the south.

THE HOLIDAY WEEK: The week will be busy, with a nice rainmaker for Monday (no one complaining here). Thanksgiving and Black Friday will be dry and cool, with a weakening front moving in by Saturday, Nov. 25. The Iron Bowl looks dry and seasonably cool. We get wet again on Monday, Nov. 27.

TROPICS: A surface low is expected to form off the coast of southeast Florida and move northeastward over the next 24 hours. Meanwhile, there is still a chance that a tropical depression could form over the western Caribbean over the next 24-36 hours. The Global Forecast System and its ensemble members take the feature northward, slowly strengthening as it goes, turning it northeast by Friday and carrying it near the Windward Passage between Cuba and Hispaniola and near the Turks and Caicos by Sunday. Nine-tenths of the intensity guidance keeps it a tropical storm, with a couple of models taking it up to a Category 1 hurricane. If it does become a tropical storm, the National Hurricane Center will name it Vince.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Chattanooga Mocs will tangle in T-town at 11 a.m. Saturday with a brisk northwesterly wind blowing behind a cold front. Skies will clear quickly, and temperatures will rise from 63 degrees at kickoff to 65 by game’s end.

Auburn welcomes New Mexico State at 3 p.m. Saturday. By the time the eagle flies over Jordan Hare, the skies will have cleared. Temperatures will start off at 69 degrees, falling to 59 by the final whistle.

Temple visits UAB, with a 2 p.m. kickoff at Protective Stadium. The temperatures will start off at 62 degrees, rise to 64, then fall to 59 as the game wraps up. Skies will be partly cloudy, and a breezy northwest wind will blow through the stadium.

ON THIS DATE IN 1958: A record-breaking snowstorm struck Tucson, Arizona, resulting in more than 5 inches of snow in the city and an astonishing 3 to 7 feet of snow in the Santa Rita Mountains. On this fateful day, six Boy Scouts from Tucson had embarked on a day hike to Mt. Baldy, now known as Mt. Wrightson. Unexpectedly, they were caught in an arctic-like blizzard. Three Scouts turned back, but the remaining three, Mike Early, David Greenberg and Michael La Noue, continued and tragically lost their lives in the storm. The severe weather conditions led to the largest search operation in Arizona’s history, involving more than 750 searchers for 19 days.

For more weather news and information from James Spann, Bill Murray and other members of the James Spann team, visit AlabamaWx.