RADAR CHECK: We have a few areas of mostly light rain over the southern half of Alabama early this morning. Otherwise, the sky is mostly cloudy with temperatures in the upper 60s and low 70s. We are forecasting a mix of sun and clouds today with scattered showers possible; the highest coverage will be over the southern counties. The weather stays warm, with a high between 80 and 85 degrees this afternoon.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Highs remain in the 80s Saturday and Sunday with a partly to mostly sunny sky both days. We will keep some risk of isolated showers in the forecast for the far southern part of Alabama, but nothing widespread or heavy.

COOL CHANGE: While Monday will be another warm day, a dry cold front will bring a cool change to the Deep South beginning Tuesday. Highs drop into the 70s over north and central Alabama, with lows in the 50s. The highs will be close to 80 over south Alabama, and the week will be dry with sunny days and fair nights. We see no really significant rain for Alabama for the next 10-15 days. This is common for October, the driest month of the year here based on climatology.

TROPICS: Kirk remains a powerful hurricane this morning with winds of 145 mph, but it is in the middle of the Atlantic far from land. It turns north, then northeast well east of the U.S. Behind Kirk is Tropical Storm Leslie with winds of 60 mph. It should become a hurricane over the next 24 hours, but like Kirk it will remain far from land.

We continue to watch the southern Gulf of Mexico, where disorganized showers and thunderstorms are associated with a trough of low pressure. A broad area of low pressure is expected to form this weekend, and thereafter some gradual development is possible while the low moves slowly eastward or northeastward. A tropical or subtropical depression or storm could form during the early to middle part of next week if the low remains separate from a frontal boundary that is forecast to extend across the Gulf of Mexico next week. Regardless of tropical or subtropical development, locally heavy rains could occur over portions of Mexico during the next few days and over portions of the Florida Peninsula (not the panhandle) late this weekend into next week.

The National Hurricane Center gives this feature a 40% chance of development. We see no risk of a tropical storm or hurricane for the central Gulf Coast (Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach) for at least the next seven days.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: There’s just a small risk of a shower during the first quarter for the high school games tonight. Otherwise, it will be mostly fair and pleasant; temperatures will fall through the 70s.

Saturday, UAB will host Tulane at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham (noon kickoff). The sky will be mostly sunny with temperatures in the low to mid 80s.

Auburn will be on the road at Georgia (2:30 p.m. CT kickoff). The sky will be sunny with temperatures in the low 80s through most of the game.

Alabama travels to Nashville to take on Vanderbilt (3:15 p.m. CT kickoff). Expect a sunny sky with temperatures falling from near 85 degrees at kickoff to near 80 by the final whistle.

RACE WEEKEND: There’s just an outside risk of a shower today at Talladega; otherwise, it will be warm and dry through the weekend with highs in the mid 80s. Lows will be in the 60s.

ON THIS DATE IN 1995: Opal made landfall at Pensacola Beach as a Category 3 hurricane with top sustained winds of 115 mph. Opal at that time was the first major hurricane to strike the Florida Panhandle since Eloise in 1975.

Opal’s legacy will always be the devastating storm surge that occurred across the coastal areas of the western Florida Panhandle. Storm surge of 10-15 feet was recorded from Navarre Beach east to Destin, with 6-8 feet observed in the inland bays from Pensacola to Choctawhatchee Bay. Opal destroyed most of the homes that were facing the Gulf of Mexico from Navarre Beach to east of Destin.

Opal was a high-impact event for most of inland Alabama. Rainfall measured at the Birmingham Airport reached 6.94 inches for the day, with major flooding in parts of the city. There were two storm-related deaths in Gadsden, in Etowah County, when high wind toppled a massive oak tree onto their mobile home.

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.

Atlanta quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 509 yards and four touchdowns, including a 45-yarder to wide receiver KhaDarel Hodge on the opening possession in overtime, in the Falcons’ 36-30 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.

Two of Cousins’ touchdown passes in the NFC South game went to wide receiver Darnell Mooney. The former Gadsden City High School star came down with a 24-yard touchdown toss as Atlanta took a 14-10 lead with 11:58 left in the first half and caught a 12-yard TD pass as the Falcons tied the game at 27-27 with 13:18 left in the fourth quarter.

Mooney had nine receptions for 109 yards as Cousins set a franchise record for single-game passing yards. But in his first NFL game with two touchdown receptions and his fifth 100-yard game, Mooney almost went from hero to goat.

With Atlanta trailing 30-27, Mooney dropped a third-and-6 pass that would have been a first down and, because the Tampa Bay defender had fallen down, maybe a touchdown with 6:37 to play.

The Bucs then blocked Younghoe Koo’s field-goal attempt to keep a three-point lead.

On the Falcons’ next possession, Cousins was intercepted trying to connect with Mooney.

Atlanta got one more chance with 64 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, and Cousins hit Mooney for 17 yards as the longest play in a 51-yard drive that netted a game-tying field goal by Koo as time expired in the fourth quarter.

Three other players with Alabama football roots got on the field during the Tampa Bay-Atlanta game:

· Buccaneers safety Marcus Banks (Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Buccaneers outside linebacker Chris Braswell (Alabama) made one tackle.

· K.J. Britt (Oxford, Auburn) started at linebacker for the Buccaneers. Britt made a career-high nine tackles.

· Jamel Dean (Auburn) started at cornerback for the Buccaneers. Dean made nine tackles and broke up one pass.

· Falcons linebacker Rashaan Evans (Auburn High, Alabama) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Falcons safety DeMarcco Hellams (Alabama) is on injured reserve and not eligible to play.

· Buccaneers cornerback Keenan Isaac (Midfield, Alabama State) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Falcons running back Jase McClellan (Alabama) was designated as a game-day inactive.

· Falcons outside linebacker Monty Rice (James Clemens) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

· Buccaneers running back D.J. Williams (Auburn) is on the practice squad and not eligible to play.

The teams stay in the NFC South for their next games. The Buccaneers (3-2) play the New Orleans Saints at noon CDT Oct. 13 at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. Atlanta (3-2) plays the Carolina Panthers at 3:25 p.m. CDT Oct. 13 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.

A federal lawsuit challenging the fees levied on people who install solar panels on their homes will move forward, after a judge in Montgomery denied a motion to dismiss the case.

“Solar energy offers a unique opportunity for residents of Alabama to take control of their energy costs, reduce their carbon footprints, and contribute to a cleaner environment,” said Madison Naves, communications coordinator with GASP, one of the plaintiffs. “Unfortunately, however, the Alabama Public Service Commission has signed off on Alabama Power’s punitive charges that are stifling the growth of rooftop solar across Alabama Power’s territory.”

In 2021, plaintiffs, including the environmental group GASP, sued the Alabama Public Service Commission in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. Alabama Power later joined the case as an intervenor defendant.

The plaintiffs argued that the PSC violated federal energy laws by allowing Alabama Power to charge fees to people who use solar panels.

Alabama Power and the PSC had asked for the case to be dismissed, arguing that the court did not have jurisdiction and that the plaintiffs did not make a claim for which relief can be granted.

But U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled against the defendants on Monday, arguing that the court does have standing to adjudicate claims made under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA), a federal law designed to encourage renewable energy use.

“This case is about alleged price discrimination against small-scale solar-power production in Alabama. But the merits of that issue are not the focus of this opinion,” Thompson wrote in his opinion. “Based on the well-pleaded allegations in the complaint, the court currently finds that it has jurisdiction over the plaintiffs’ three claims under PURPA.”

A representative for the PSC declined to comment. A representative for Alabama Power did not respond to a request for comment.

Alabama Power customers who use solar panels—or any other type of additional, non-emergency power generating source—are charged a fee based on the capacity of their system. The utility previously told AL.com that this fee is necessary to cover the cost of providing backup power to those customers.

But the plaintiffs argue that these fees are discriminatory and unfair, and that they’ve discouraged solar panel use in Alabama.

“As a result, Alabama, despite its abundance of sunshine, lags almost every other state in the U.S. in customer-sited solar deployment,” the plaintiffs said in an amended legal filing in 2023.

In 2020, the PSC allowed Alabama Power to continue charging the “solar fee” and approved an increase from $5 per kilowatt per month to $5.41 per kilowatt per month. The plaintiffs then appealed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to end the fee. FERC declined to act in 2021, allowing plaintiffs to sue.

Alabama lags behind some neighboring states in solar power use. As of the second quarter of 2024, 0.85% of the state’s electricity is generated from solar power, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association. In Georgia, 6.21% of the state’s electricity is generated from solar, and in Florida, 7.65% of the state’s electricity is solar.

The Southern Environmental Law Center represents GASP, as well as plaintiffs Mark Johnston and Teresa Thorne. The other two plaintiffs, James Bankston and Ralph Pfeiffer, are represented by Birmingham law firm Ragsdale, LLC. An attorney for Bankston and Pfeiffer did not respond to a request for comment.

Alabama Power is represented by Balch & Bingham.