James Spann has the Alabama forecast for New Year’s Eve and the week beyond from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

ANOTHER COOL, DRY DAY AHEAD: A very dry air mass covers Alabama this morning; we expect sunshine in full supply again with a high in the 50s this afternoon. Don’t look for much change Wednesday; the sky will be partly to mostly sunny with a high in the upper 50s. Clouds thicken Wednesday night ahead of a developing long-wave upper trough west of the state.

SOAKING RAIN: Rain moves into the state Thursday and will continue Thursday night and into part of the day Friday. This should be a pretty big rain event for the state; amounts of 2-3 inches are likely over the northern half of the state, with 1-2 inches for the southern counties. The Weather Prediction Center has defined a slight risk of flash flooding for the northwest part of the state, with a marginal risk for the rest of north Alabama. I would not be surprised if flash-flood watches are needed.

The Storm Prediction Center has introduced a marginal risk (level 1 out of 5) of severe storms for southwest Alabama Thursday afternoon and Thursday night; the warm sector will try to push into that part of the state, and a few storms are possible with gusty winds. But for most of Alabama, the air will be cool and stable and we will deal with just good old-fashioned rain.

Friday will be relatively mild with a high in the 60s; we will still have a chance of some rain at times, and maybe even some thunder. But it won’t rain all day.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: A cold-core upper low will move right over north Alabama Saturday. The day will be cloudy, temperatures will be much lower and we will have a chance of some scattered light rain or drizzle. Forecast thickness values even hint at the risk of a snowflake or two over the northern third of the state, but surface temperatures will be well above freezing and there won’t be any impact if a snowflake happens to fall. Temperatures will hold in the 40s all day, followed by a clearing sky Saturday night and a subfreezing low Sunday morning; most places will be down in the 20s. During the day Sunday, the sky will be sunny with a high in the 50s.

NEXT WEEK: Monday will be cool and dry, but beyond that there is considerable model madness. The Global Forecast System holds off the next chance of rain until late in the week, while the European global model brings in a rain ahead of a cold front Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: For Wednesday’s Outback Bowl in Tampa (Auburn vs. Minnesota; kickoff at noon Central Time), the sky will be sunny with temperatures rising from the mid 60s at kickoff into the upper 60s by the second half. The weather will be very similar for the Citrus Bowl in Orlando Wednesday (Alabama vs. Michigan; kickoff at noon Central Time) — a clear sky with temperatures in the mid to upper 60s.

For the Birmingham Bowl Thursday (Cincinnati vs. Boston College; 2 p.m. kickoff), the sky will be cloudy with rain likely throughout the game. We’re not expecting any thunder and lightning, and there is no severe weather risk. Temperatures will hover in the 54- to 58-degree range.

ON THIS DATE IN 1967: The 1967 NFL Championship Game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers, played on Dec. 31 at Lambeau Field, is known as the Ice Bowl, arguably one of the greatest games in NFL history. The game was played in brutal cold and windy conditions. The kickoff temperature in Green Bay was minus 13 degrees, with a wind chill of 36 below zero. Temperatures were so cold, in fact, that referees had to shout signals so that the metal whistles wouldn’t stick to their lips. Even so, nearly 51,000 fans watched the coldest game in league annals.

Several players were treated for frostbite and a fan in the stands died of exposure to the cold. Bart Starr, the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame quarterback, scored the game-winning touchdown with 13 seconds remaining, clinching a third straight NFL Championship for the Packers.

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