James Spann forecasts a mostly dry beginning for the Alabama work week from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

MILD, MOSTLY DRY TODAY: Most of Alabama will stay dry today, although showers are possible by afternoon over the southwest counties of the state. We expect a mix of sun and clouds with a high around 70 degrees; the average high for March 9 at Birmingham is 65. Clouds will increase tonight and showers are possible, mainly after midnight.

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY: Tuesday will be a mostly cloudy, mild day with a few passing rain showers — nothing too heavy, and it won’t rain all day. Showers and a few thunderstorms are likely Wednesday; a few strong storms are possible Wednesday evening, but for now the Storm Prediction Center doesn’t have any part of Alabama in a severe weather risk (there is a marginal risk west of the state over much of Arkansas and some of the adjacent states).

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: The weather stays unsettled on these two days with a chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm or two. The American global model tries to push drier air into north Alabama Friday, but that is a bit iffy at this point; we will keep the chance of rain in the forecast for now. The risk of severe storms continues to look low, and rain amounts won’t be nearly as heavy as last week. Rain totals this week will be heaviest over the Tennessee Valley of north Alabama, where amounts could exceed 2 inches in spots. We expect about 1 inch for places like Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Anniston, Gadsden and less than one-half inch for the southern half of the state.

Temperatures will be mild this week, with highs mostly in the upper 60s and low 70s.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: For now Saturday looks relatively dry; with a partly sunny sky the high will be in the 67- to 70-degree range. Clouds increase Sunday with a risk of showers; the high will be in the upper 60s. We aren’t expecting a “wash out” type rain Sunday, but occasional showers are a good bet.

NEXT WEEK: The pattern continues to favor mild, showery weather through a decent part of the week.

DONE WITH FREEZING TEMPERATURES? No. While we don’t expect a freeze over the next 10-15 days, we almost always have a late-season freeze in late March or early April. It’s way too early to plant anything that would be harmed by freezing temperatures over north and central Alabama.

ON THIS DATE IN 1957: An earthquake measuring a magnitude 8.6 struck the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. A Pacific-wide tsunami was generated that caused damage in Hawaii, but fortunately no lives were lost. Hardest hit was the island of Kauai, where houses were destroyed and roads washed away. Waves reached 34.1 feet high at Haena, Hawaii.

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