HOT OCTOBER DAY: Temperatures are in the 87-92 degree range across most of Alabama this afternoon with a sunny sky. Tonight will be clear with a low in the 60s.
Dry weather will continue across Alabama tomorrow and Thursday with afternoon highs around 90 degrees. This is close to record levels for mid-October, but humidity levels will be relatively low.
A cold front moves through the state Friday… with limited moisture it should pass through in dry fashion with only a isolated showers over the northern half of the state. Friday will still be warm with a high in the 80s.
WEEKEND COOLDOWN: A cool, continental airmass will roll into the Deep South just in time for the weekend. Highs drop into the low to mid 70s, with lows in the 40s and 50s. Expect a cobalt blue sky both days; a picture perfect autumn weekend.
Dry weather continue next week, but heat levels slowly rise again with high back in the 80s late in the week. See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.
AIR QUALITY: There is a “code orange” air quality alert for the Birmingham metro tomorrow (Jefferson and Shelby counties) due to ground level ozone. This means air quality could be “unhealthy for sensitive groups”. This mainly impacts people with respiratory conditions: asthma, COPD, bronchitis, or emphysema.
TROPICS: The Atlantic basin is quiet and tropical storm formation is not expected for at least the next seven days.
FOOTBALL WEATHER: Tonight Jacksonville State hosts Florida International University (FIU) tonight at AmFirst Stadium (7:00p CT kickoff). The sky will be clear with temperatures falling from the low 80s at kickoff into the upper 60s by the final whistle.
UAB hosts East Carolina Thursday night at Protective Stadium (6:30p CT kickoff). A clear sky, about 84 degrees at kickoff. Temperatures will fall into the 70s through most of the game.
Auburn travels to Athens to take on Georgia Saturday (2:30p CT kickoff). It will be a perfect day for the game; a sunny sky with low 70s at kickoff, falling into the 60s by the fourth quarter.
And, Alabama will be on the road as well… they play Tennessee in Knoxville (2:30p CT kickoff). A sun filled sky, temperatures in the low to mid 60s at kickoff, upper 50s by the fourth quarter.
The weather will be clear and very pleasant for all of the other games across Alabama and the Deep South Saturday.
ON THIS DATE IN 1893: The “Great Charleston” hurricane made landfall near McClellanville, South Carolina, just north of Charleston, around 8a local time as a Category 3 with 120 mph winds and a 955 mb pressure. NWS Charleston’s storm history describes it as a compact Cat 3 that came ashore just north of the city, producing significant flooding on ground already saturated by earlier storms. It was the second major hurricane to hammer the South Carolina Lowcountry in about six weeks — the catastrophic Sea Islands hurricane had hit on August 27–28 of that same year. It held together remarkably well inland: still a Category 1 passing about 60 miles west of Washington, D.C., before turning extratropical over Canada.
Look for the next video briefing here by 6:00 a.m. tomorrow…
