James Spann: Frost possible for North/Central Alabama early tomorrow morning

SLOW CLEARING: The clearing process is slow across Alabama today, but the sun is peeking out in most places, and by midnight tonight all of the clouds should be out of the state. Temperatures are in the 50s statewide at mid-afternoon, about 15 degrees below average for late October.

FROSTY MORNING: With a clear sky and light wind, temperatures will drop into the 30s across much of North/Central Alabama early tomorrow morning with scattered frost likely. Colder valleys could easily see the first freeze of the season. Temperatures warm nicely during the day with a sunny sky; the high will be in the 60s for most communities.

THE WEEKEND: We are forecasting a partly sunny sky Saturday with a high in the 60s. Clouds will increase late in the day, and a few sprinkles or showers are possible Saturday night into Sunday morning as an upper trough passes through. Moisture will be very limited, and many places won’t see any rain at all. Any showers that form should end by Sunday afternoon as the trough passes on to the east.

NEXT WEEK: We are getting much better model agreement this afternoon; the week is now looking dry with pleasant days and cool nights. Most of North Alabama will see lows in the 30s again early Monday morning, but afternoon highs reach the low to mid 70s statewide by the latter half of the week. See the video briefing for maps, graphics and more details.

TROPICS: This afternoon Hurricane Melissa, with winds of 105 mph, is about 430 miles west/southwest of Bermuda … it is moving quickly to the northeast at 30 mph. Melissa will pass west of Bermuda late tonight before it becomes post-tropical over the North Atlantic over the weekend.

The rest of the Atlantic basin is quiet; no tropical storms or hurricanes are expected across the Gulf for at least the next 10 days.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Auburn hosts Kentucky Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium (6:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly fair with temperatures falling from near 60 degrees at kickoff into the upper 40s by the final whistle.

Arkansas State visits Troy Saturday night (7 p.m. kickoff) … expect a clear sky with temperatures falling from the low 60s at kickoff through the 50s during the game.

TIME CHANGE: We go back on standard time this weekend. Clocks go back one hour late Saturday night; the sunset Sunday will come around 4:50 p.m. for most of Alabama.

ON THIS DATE IN 1991: The Perfect Storm, also known as the No-Name Storm reached maximum strength on this day with a low pressure of 972 mb and sustained winds of 69 mph. While initially an extratropical cyclone, it absorbed Hurricane Grace to its south, later evolving into a small, unnamed Category 1 hurricane. The storm lashed the East coast of the United States with high waves and coastal flooding during its extratropical cyclone phase. Damage from the storm totaled over $200 million and resulted in 13 fatalities, six of them from the sinking of the Andrea Gail, which later inspired the book and movie The Perfect Storm.

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