James Spann: Near-record January warmth in store for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

CLOUDS, NOT MUCH RAIN: The sky will feature more clouds than sun across much of Alabama through tomorrow, but we don’t expect much rain. Best chance of showers will come across the Tennessee Valley of far North Alabama, but even there rain amounts should be fairly light. The big story is the warmth; we expect a high between 70 and 73 degrees both days. The average high for Jan. 12-13 for Birmingham is 52.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: The spring preview continues. Afternoon highs should be in the 72- to 76-degree range Saturday and Sunday, with a mix of sun and clouds both days, as the upper ridge holds across the region. Record highs for Birmingham are 78 for both Jan. 14 (Saturday), set in 1932, and Jan. 15 (Sunday), set in 1947.

ACROSS THE CENTRAL U.S.: There’s potential for some nasty icing conditions due to freezing rain tomorrow through part of the weekend. Winter storm watches are up from parts of Oklahoma and Kansas through Missouri into Illinois (areas south of Chicago).

Freezing rain could set up a serious ice storm for parts of that region. Thankfully, far from Alabama.

NEXT WEEK: Dry and warm weather continues across Alabama Monday and Tuesday, but the ridge breaks down, and rain should return to the state by Wednesday. The latest Global Forecast System run shows a new surface low forming over Arkansas with unstable air over Alabama, but it is too early to know if severe storms will be an issue. Looks like rain amounts of about 1 inch will be likely.

We start to trend back to colder temperatures in about 10-15 days.

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