James Spann: Warming trend will start today for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

ICE WILL MELT AWAY: Temperatures are mostly in the 20s across Alabama early this morning, but a warming trend begins this afternoon; we project a high in the 45- to 49-degree range, with a good supply of sunshine.

MILD DAYS AHEAD: A big upper air pattern change will evolve across the region this week; the deep upper trough that brought the frigid air will be replaced by an upper ridge. This means mild afternoons, and it will keep the heaviest and most widespread rain west and north of Alabama.

Clouds increase tomorrow, and the high will be close to 60 degrees. A few showers are possible in the northern third of the state tomorrow night and Wednesday, but amounts probably won’t be too heavy. Wednesday will be noticeably warmer with a high in the upper 60s.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: A pretty decent chance we see 70-degree warmth on these two days. Yep, this is Alabama; it never “gets cold and stays cold” here. The sky will be occasionally cloudy, but just a small risk of a shower.

THE WEEKEND: The Global Forecast System is printing a high of 74 degrees at Birmingham Saturday, so we can promise no icy travel this weekend. Cloudy periods both days, but only a small risk of a shower. Sunday will be mild as well, with a high around 70 degrees. The upper ridge will continue to hold most of the rain west and north of our state.

NEXT WEEK: The ridge breaks down and should allow a more widespread rain event in here by Tuesday, Jan. 17. No sign of any winter weather mischief for the state for the next 10 to 15 days.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP: Perfect football weather tonight in Tampa for the big game between Bama and Clemson. A clear sky; the temperature will fall from 60 degrees at kickoff into the mid 50s during the second half.

WEATHER BRAINS: You can listen to our weekly 90-minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including meteorologists at ABC 33/40.

CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks:

Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
Instagram

For more weather news and information, visit AlabamaWX.