Friday Night Lights Forecast: Dry, Clear and Cool by the Fourth Quarter
What is the weather for high school football games Friday in Columbus and Auburn?
Friday night football across the CNAW area is dry and clear, with kickoff temperatures of 75 in Columbus, 71 in Auburn and Opelika and 77 in Cusseta, falling into the mid to upper 60s by the fourth quarter.
Photo: Naveen Ketterer / Pexels
This is the Friday everyone has been waiting on since August. Under a mostly clear sky, kickoff temperatures across the viewing area run from 71 degrees to 77, the wind is 5 mph or less everywhere, and the rain chance from Hogansville to Eufaula is zero. Sit down on an aluminum bench in the first quarter in short sleeves and you will be reaching for a hoodie by the fourth.
The coolest towns are in east Alabama. Around Auburn, where Auburn and Lee-Scott play, and in Opelika, home of Opelika and Beauregard, it will be 71 around kickoff and 66 by the fourth quarter. Tuskegee, where Booker T. Washington plays, matches that at 71 and 66, though with humidity near 76 percent it will feel a touch heavier early. Valley and Beulah in Valley and LaFayette and Chambers Academy in LaFayette also start at 71, and LaFayette has the coldest late-game reading in the area at 65 degrees.
The warmest stands are east of the river in Georgia. Chattahoochee County in Cusseta tops the list at 77 around kickoff, and it is also the driest air anywhere on the schedule, with humidity near 49 percent. Stewart County in Lumpkin, Marion County in Buena Vista, Schley County in Ellaville and Webster County in Preston all begin at 76, and every one of them cools into the upper 60s late.
In Columbus, where Shaw, Hardaway, Columbus, Spencer, Kendrick, Jordan, Carver, Northside, Calvary Christian, Pacelli and Brookstone play at Kinnett Stadium, A.J. McClung and the school fields around town, plan on 75 around kickoff and 70 by the fourth quarter with a 5 mph breeze. Across the river in Phenix City, Central holds up the warmest late number in the area, 73 falling only to 69. Russell County in Seale sits at 72 and 67, and Smiths Station and Glenwood at Smiths Station go 74 to 68.
Around LaGrange, where LaGrange, Troup County and LaGrange Academy play, it will be 75 at the start and 68 late, with Callaway in Hogansville at 75 and 67. Harris County in Hamilton starts a little cooler at 72 and settles at 67. Greenville drops the most in Georgia, 73 to 65, and Manchester goes 74 to 66. Lanett and Springwood in Lanett see 73 and 68.
Farther south, Eufaula begins at 74 and Barbour County in Clayton at 73, both landing in the mid to upper 60s late, with the air nearly calm at both. Randolph Clay in Cuthbert, Quitman County in Georgetown, Taylor County in Butler and Central-Talbotton all hold in the mid 70s at the start.
What to bring: nothing on your feet but comfortable shoes, no umbrella anywhere, and a light jacket or a sweatshirt to put on at halftime. Parents on the Alabama side, especially in Auburn, Opelika and LaFayette, will want that layer sooner than the rest of us.
Friday night, school by school
Around kickoff → by the fourth quarter, on each school’s own clock.
No school or town by that name in the viewing area.
Central time in Alabama, Eastern in Georgia. Start times vary; check with the school. Forecast: National Weather Service.
Right now in Columbus, Georgia
71°Temperature
65°Dew point
81%Humidity
5 mphWind — northeast
30.10"Pressure
The next seven days
Day
High
Low
Rain
Conditions
TONIGHT
—
61°
0%
Partly Cloudy
FRI
82°
59°
0%
Sunny
SAT
86°
59°
0%
Sunny
SUN
86°
59°
0%
Mostly Sunny
MON
89°
61°
1%
Sunny
TUE
91°
65°
1%
Sunny
WED
92°
68°
17%
Sunny then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms
Written by the CNAW 2 weather desk from CNAW 2 weather desk data. Last updated September 24, 2026 at 7:24 PM Eastern. Covering Columbus and Phenix City, Auburn–Opelika, LaGrange, Eufaula and the rest of the 19-county CNAW viewing area.
