James Spann forecasts light rain for northern Alabama, dry day down south from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

COLD FRONT DRIFTING SOUTHWARD: A cold front is pushing into far north Alabama early this morning; a band of light rain continues ahead of the front over the northern third of the state. The front will drift down into the central counties by afternoon; the day will be cloudy with a few periods of light rain. Temperatures will fall slowly through the 60s today; some communities across the Tennessee Valley could reach the upper 50s by afternoon, considerably cooler than Thursday, when some places saw 80-degree warmth. Rain amounts today should be one-half inch or less.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: The front will move northward early Saturday, and most of the state looks rain-free with a mix of sun and clouds. The high will be back in the 71- to 75-degree range. The meandering front will drift southward again on Sunday; the sky will be occasionally cloudy with some risk of scattered showers. Sunday will be cooler, with a high between 60 and 65.

NEXT WEEK: The week will be mild and showery. Highs will be mostly in the 70s, and there will be some risk of showers daily. But there are no signs of any really heavy rain, flooding or severe weather.

THURSDAY’S WARMTH: Thursday was the warmest day so far this year for Alabama. Here are some highs:

• Montgomery — 85
• Tuscaloosa — 82
• Demopolis — 82
• Birmingham — 81
• Cottondale — 81
• Carbon Hill — 81
• Selma — 81
• Remlap — 81
• Hueytown — 80
• Bessemer — 80
• Jacksonville — 80
• Anniston — 79
• Muscle Shoals — 79
• Mobile — 78
• Huntsville — 76

Montgomery’s high of 85 was 2 degrees shy of the March 12 record high of 87, set in 2006, 1967 and 1955.

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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