James Spann: Alabama stays dry through Saturday with pleasant days, cool nights

FOGGY START: A dense fog advisory is in effect early this morning for much of North/Central Alabama; the fog will dissipate by mid-morning. Otherwise today will be sunny with a high in the 67–75-degree range.

Dry weather continues through Saturday with pleasant days and cool nights. Colder spots across North Alabama could reach the upper 30s early tomorrow morning … 40s are likely deep into the southern part of the state.

RAIN RETURNS: Clouds will increase Saturday night and rain will move into the state Sunday. No risk of severe storms, and probably not much thunder. Rain amounts will likely be around 1/2 inch for much of the state, with potential for heavier amounts over the southwest counties.

A few spotty showers are possible on Monday and Tuesday of next week, followed by a higher coverage of rain Wednesday. Then, the weather looks cool and dry Thursday and Friday.

TROPICS: This morning Tropical Storm Melissa, with 50 mph winds, is about 305 miles south/southwest of Port Au Prince, Haiti. It is moving to the west/northwest at 7 mph. Steering currents collapse, and Melissa is expected to meander around the Caribbean for the next five days just south of Jamaica and Hispaniola. NHC is forecasting Melissa to become a hurricane by Friday.

Melissa is expected to produce heavy rainfall across portions of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Jamaica through this weekend, bringing a risk of significant flash flooding and landslides. Next week the system should kick out to the northeast in response to a deep upper trough digging over the eastern part of North America.

No tropical storms or hurricanes are expected across the Gulf for the rest of October.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: The annual Magic City Classic is Saturday at Birmingham’s Legion Field; Alabama State vs Alabama A&M (2:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be partly sunny with temperatures in the mid to upper 70s at kickoff, falling into the low 70s by the final whistle.

Auburn will be at Arkansas Saturday (11:45 a.m. kickoff) … the sky will be cloudy with periods of rain likely during the game; temperatures will hover around 60 degrees.

Alabama travels to Columbia to take on South Carolina Saturday (2:30 p.m. kickoff) … the weather will be dry with a sunny sky. Expect low 70s at kickoff, upper 60s by the final whistle.

ON THIS DATE IN 1997: Game 4 of the World Series between the Cleveland Indians and the Florida Marlins was the coldest game in World Series history. The official game-time temperature was 38 degrees at Jacobs Field in Cleveland. Wind chills as low as 18 degrees was reported during the game.

ON THIS DATE IN 1998: Tropical Depression Thirteen formed over the southwestern the Caribbean Sea. By the 24th, this tropical depression became Hurricane Mitch. This hurricane would rapidly intensify over the next two days, reaching Category 5 strength on the 26th. Hurricane Mitch would end up being the second deadliest hurricane in the history of the Atlantic Ocean.

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