ON THE MAPS: A cold front is stretched out across Alabama this afternoon, roughly along I-20. North of the front, temperatures have dropped into the upper 50s at places like Cullman and Haleyville. South of the front, temperatures are in the 70s over the southern half of the state. Clouds cover north and central Alabama and some light rain continues to fall. The rain will end tonight as the boundary begins to lift northward as a warm front.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Most of Alabama will be dry Saturday. With a mix of sun and clouds, we project a high in the mid 70s. The average high at Birmingham on March 14 is 67. On Sunday, the front actually drifts back to the south and cooler air returns to north Alabama, with highs in the 58- to 64-degree range. A few periods of light rain are possible Sunday.

NEXT WEEK: The week continues to look mild and showery. There will be some risk of showers each day, but nothing to suggest a washout, flooding or severe storms at this point. Afternoon highs will be in the 70s.

RAIN UPDATE: Here are some rain totals for the year so far, and the departure from average:

• Tuscaloosa — 26.97 inches (14.38 inches above average)
• Birmingham — 26.07 (14.63 above average)
• Anniston — 26.03 (14.37 above average)
• Muscle Shoals — 21.16 (10.06 above average)
• Montgomery — 20.32 (12.28 above average)
• Huntsville — 19.79 (8.06 above average)
• Dothan — 14.15 (11.25 above average)
• Mobile — 10.18 (2.99 below average)

ON THIS DATE IN 1913: A major tornado outbreak struck much of the southern United States on March 13, 1913, with tornadoes killing numerous people in parts of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee. Across Middle Tennessee, tornadoes damaged numerous homes and businesses across Lawrence, Giles, Maury, Marshall and Rutherford counties, and possibly other counties as well. These tornadoes, all of which moved north-northeastward or northward, resulted in at least nine fatalities and dozens of injuries. In addition to the tornadoes, very heavy rainfall that fell throughout the day on March 13 resulted in widespread water damage and some flooding.

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