MARVELOUS MAY DAY: With a good supply of sunshine through a shallow field of fair-weather cumulus clouds, temperatures are in the mid-70s across most of Alabama this afternoon in a very dry air mass. Tonight will be clear and cool, with a low between 47 and 54 degrees.

Tomorrow will be sunny; temperatures rise into the 77- to 81-degree range by afternoon. The weather stays dry Sunday; with a partly to mostly sunny sky the high will be in the low 80s, very close to seasonal averages for mid-May in Alabama.

NEXT WEEK: An upper high will build over the region, and we expect rising heat and humidity levels during the week. Any showers Monday and Tuesday will be very isolated; we will mention some risk of scattered showers and storms over the latter half of the week, but the ridge will keep the heaviest and most widespread rain well to the west of Alabama. Highs through the week will be mostly in the mid-80s; a few spots could reach the upper 80s by Thursday and Friday.

ON THIS DATE IN 1923: An early-morning violent estimated F5 tornado cut a 45-mile path of destruction through Howard and Mitchell counties in Texas. A total of 23 people lost their lives and 250 sustained injuries. The path width of the tornado reached 1.5 miles at one point, and entire farms were “wiped off the face of the earth.” The First Baptist Church in Colorado City, Texas, became an emergency hospital for tornado victims.

ON THIS DATE IN 2014: Three EF-0 tornadoes touched down across Alabama. They came in Clay, Tallapoosa and Bullock counties. Damage was mostly confined to trees.

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