OCTOBER HEAT: Dry weather continues across Alabama through 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 afternoon… with limited moisture it should pass through in dry fashion with only a small risk of a brief shower over the northern half of the state. Friday will still be warm with a high in the mid to upper 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 rise again with high back in the 80s. See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.
TROPICS: An elongated area of low pressure located several hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands is producing a large area of disorganized showers and thunderstorms well to the east of its center. Further development of this system appears unlikely as the low moves slowly northward to north-northwestward and encounters stronger upper-level winds today and tonight.
Chance of development is only 10 percent, and the rest of the Atlantic basin is quiet. No tropical storms are expected near the U.S. or the Gulf for the next 10-15 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 4:00 this afternoon… enjoy the day!
