Our great weather to continue through Saturday, with a return to rain possible early next week.

Plenty of smiles continue across central Alabama as our weather remains just about perfect.  Clear, chilly nights and days featuring brilliant sunshine will remain the rule through Saturday. A weak cold front will cross the state later tonight, and that will be followed by a modest cool down for Thursday.  And Thursday will also feature a noticeably breeze, which will add a little to the chill.  Then after a cold night Thursday night, there will be a slight uptick in temperatures for Friday and Saturday.  Moisture will begin to arrive from the Gulf of Mexico Sunday and that will mean an increase in cloudiness.  I cannot rule out a shower developing late Sunday afternoon, but right now we will go with the idea that rain becomes likely Sunday night and Monday, and could linger into Tuesday.
Meanwhile that tropical depression near Nicaraqua has gained strenght, and is now Tropical Storm Ida with peak winds of 60 mph.  It will be a slow mover over the next several days, but could emerge in the southern Gulf of Mexico early next week.  And there is a chance it could serve to enhance the rain as far north as central Alabama by Tuesday or Wednesday.  Eventually a cold front will come along and push all the moisture away to the east.