James Spann: Alabama will see another surge of cooler, drier air overnight

RADAR CHECK: A band of light showers is near I-20 at mid-afternoon (Tuscaloosa to Birmingham to Anniston) … the showers will drift southward and fizzle out this evening as a cold front continues to move southward. A new surge of cool air rolls into the state tonight; most communities will be in the 40s early tomorrow morning.

The weather will be dry tomorrow through Saturday with sunny pleasant days and clear cool nights. Most North Alabama communities won’t get out of the 60s tomorrow, and colder spots will drop into the 30s early Thursday morning. Highs will be in the 70s Thursday through Saturday.

Rain returns to the state Sunday ahead of an upper trough; a few lingering light showers are possible Monday. Tuesday looks dry, followed by another chance of rain Wednesday. See the video briefing for maps, graphics and more details.

TROPICS: Tropical Storm Melissa has formed in the Caribbean with 50 mph winds. The center is about 305 miles south of Port Au Prince, Haiti, and it is moving to the west at 14 mph.

The NHC forecast track brings Melissa to a category one hurricane later this week southwest of Jamaica. Most model ensemble members bring Melissa over either Cuba or Hispaniola this weekend, then into the open Atlantic if the system survives the land interaction. We note some members suggest a slow motion into Central America.

No tropical storms or hurricanes are expected across the Gulf for at least the next 7-10 days.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: 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 1988: Hurricane Joan, the last hurricane of the season, neared the coast of Nicaragua packing 125 mph winds. Joan claimed more than 200 lives as she moved over Central America, and total damage approached $1.5 billion. Crossing more than 40 degrees of longitude, Hurricane Joan never strayed even one degree from the 12-degree north parallel. After crossing Central America into the Pacific, the cyclone was renamed Tropical Storm Miriam, with the system’s dissipation occurring southwest of Mexico.

ON THIS DATE IN 2005: Wilma made landfall on the island of Cozumel, Mexico as a Category-4 Hurricane. After devastating the Yucatan Peninsula, Wilma made a U-turn and moved across the extreme southeastern Gulf of Mexico. It made landfall again in southern Florida during the morning hours of October 24th, bringing hurricane-force winds to the Florida Keys along with the highest storm surge observed in the Keys since Hurricane Betsy in 1965.

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