BEAUTIFUL DAY: Temperatures are in the 58- to 65-degree range over the northern half of Alabama this afternoon with a good supply of sunshine; the average high for Birmingham on Jan. 30 is 55.

Clouds will increase tonight ahead of the next short wave to the west.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Friday will be a cloudy, cool day with a few periods of light rain possible. Rain amounts will be less than one-tenth of an inch for much of north Alabama, with up to one-half inch for the southern part of the state. On Saturday an upper trough will pass through, meaning more clouds than sun and some potential for a few isolated showers. But most of Saturday will be dry with a high in the mid 50s. Sunday promises to be a beautiful day with ample sunshine and a high between 61 and 65 degrees.

NEXT WEEK: Monday will be mostly sunny and mild; a few spots could touch 70 degrees for a nice preview of spring. Clouds increase Monday night, and showers and thunderstorms are possible Tuesday and Tuesday night ahead of a cold front. A few strong storms can’t be ruled out, but for now instability values look to be fairly low with this event. Some lingering rain is possible Wednesday as colder air moves back into the state, and then we trend drier Thursday and Friday.

ON THIS DATE IN 1966: Bitterly cold air covered Alabama, and the state had the coldest temperature in the lower 48 states that day. It was reported nationwide that Russellville, at 24 degrees below zero, was the coldest spot in the nation. A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam remembers hearing the news that day that his hometown of Russellville earned the coldest-spot honors.

That distinction was not to last, however. Years later a Birmingham reporter was digging for a news story on Alabama’s coldest periods. This was back in the day when official reports were all on paper, often buried in dusty archives. He discovered a mistake, leading the National Climatic Data Center to correct its records to show Alabama’s lowest temperature was actually 27 degrees below zero, set at New Market on Jan. 30, 1966. The observation was recorded by Lucille Hereford, postmistress and town volunteer weather observer in New Market. To this day it is the coldest temperature on record in the state.

ALSO ON THIS DATE IN 1966: The Blizzard of 1966 temporarily isolated Buffalo, New York, and paralyzed the region. Train service was disrupted. Numerous highways, the New York State Thruway from Albany to the Pennsylvania state line, and the Buffalo Airport as well as other airports throughout western and central New York were closed. Hardest hit was the Syracuse-Oswego area, with 100 inches of snow reported at Oswego. Some schools in Orleans County were closed for the entire week following the blizzard. Economic loss from the storm was estimated at $35 million.

STORM SPOTTER TRAINING: Our annual storm spotter training is Saturday, Feb. 8 at the Hoover Met. It begins at 9:30 and there is no cost. We will offer both the basic and advanced training sessions; we expect to wrap up by 2:30. No need to register; just show up with a curious mind. We need more trained storm spotters. Help us make the warning process better.

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