James Spann: Alabama stays warm and dry; rain chances tick up next week

DRY OCTOBER WEATHER: Most all of Alabama will stay rain-free through Saturday with mostly sunny warm afternoons and clear pleasant nights. Temperatures will drop into the 50s over the northern counties early tomorrow morning and Saturday morning. Moisture levels will rise Sunday over the southern quarter of the state, where showers are possible; North Alabama will stay dry Sunday. Highs remain in the 80s through the weekend.

NEXT WEEK: We will mention a chance of showers statewide Monday through Wednesday. The rain won’t be especially widespread or heavy, but some spots could see around 1/2 inch. Possibly close to 1 inch near the coast where moisture will be deeper. Then, the weather looks generally dry for Thursday, Friday, and the following weekend (October 11-12).

TROPICS: This morning Hurricane Imelda, with winds of 85 mph, is moving quickly away from Bermuda, and becomes post-tropical later today.

Elsewhere, a tropical wave is expected to move off the coast of Africa over the next day or two. Thereafter, this wave is forecast to interact with another disturbance in the eastern tropical Atlantic, and some slow development of the combined feature is possible as the system moves westward to west-northwestward at 15 to 20 mph. The chance of development is only 20%.

And, closer to home, an area of low pressure may form near the northwestern Bahamas and southern Florida by Saturday. Any additional development is expected to be slow to occur as the system moves northwestward across the Florida Peninsula into the Gulf. The chance of development is only 10%.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: UAB hosts Army Saturday at Protective Stadium (11 a.m. kickoff) … the sky will be mostly sunny with temperatures rising into the mid 80s.

Alabama hosts Vanderbilt Saturday in Tuscaloosa (2:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly sunny with temperatures in the mid 80s at kickoff, falling to near 80 by the final whistle.

Troy will host South Alabama Saturday evening (6 p.m. kickoff) … expect a mostly clear sky with temperatures falling from the low 80s at kickoff into the 70s during the second half of the game.

ON THIS DATE IN 1898: A Category four hurricane made landfall in Georgia. This is the most recent major (category 3 or stronger) hurricane to make landfall in Georgia.

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