James Spann: Alabama stays dry through early next week with mild afternoons, cool nights

SUNNY, MILD NOVEMBER DAY: The sky is sunny across Alabama this afternoon with temperatures in the 70s. Tonight will be fair with lows in the 40s and 50s.

Alabama’s weather will remain in a holding pattern through the first half of next week with mostly sunny mild days and clear cool nights. Highs remain in the 70s; a few spots might touch the 80-degree mark over the weekend. Morning lows will be mostly in the 50s, with 40s for the cooler spots. A disturbance will bring some clouds on Sunday, but the air looks too dry for any rain.

The next meaningful chance of rain for Alabama will come toward the end of next week on Friday (November 21). For now severe storms are not expected with weakening dynamics and meager instability values; rain amounts will vary from 1-2 inches near the Shoals in NW Alabama, to under a quarter of an inch around Dothan.

At this point the following weekend (November 21-22) looks dry with highs in the 60s, and the latest long-range guidance suggests temperatures could be a little above average through Thanksgiving week. See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Tomorrow Alabama will host Oklahoma at Bryant-Denny Stadium/Saban Field (2:30 p.m. kickoff) … the sky will be partly to mostly sunny with temperatures in the low to mid 70s.

UAB hosts North Texas tomorrow at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham (1 p.m. kickoff). The weather will be mostly sunny and mild with temperatures in the 70–74-degree range.

Jacksonville State hosts Kennesaw State tomorrow evening (7 p.m. kickoff) … the sky will be clear with temperatures falling through the 60s during the game.

ON THIS DATE IN 1969: Apollo 12 was launched into a threatening gray sky with ominous cumulus clouds. Pete Conrad’s words 43 seconds after liftoff, electrified everyone in the Control Center: “We had a whole bunch of buses drops out,” followed by “Where are we going?” and “I just lost the platform.” Lightning had stricken the spacecraft. Warning lights were illuminated, and the spacecraft guidance system lost its attitude reference.

Flight controller John Aaron made a call, “Flight, EECOM. Try SCE to Aux”, to switch the SCE (signal conditioning electronics) to a backup power supply. The switch was fairly obscure, and neither Flight Director Gerald Griffin nor Conrad knew what it was; astronaut Alan Bean knew where to find it and threw the switch, after which the telemetry came back online, revealing no significant malfunctions. The flight was not aborted and the mission was successful.

Aaron’s call “SCE to Aux” remains legendary.

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit the Alabama Weather Network.