James Spann: Alabama stays dry through the weekend with mild afternoons through Saturday
CLOUDLESS SKY: Temperatures are between 61 and 66 degrees across Alabama this afternoon with a cloudless sky. Tonight will be clear with lows between 32 and 42 degrees for most places.
Spring-like afternoons will continue Thursday and Friday; with a good supply of sunshine both days, we project highs in the mid to upper 60s. A few spots might touch 70 degrees Friday afternoon.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday will feature a partly sunny sky with a high between 57 and 62 degrees. Clouds will increase Saturday night as a cold front pushes into the state. The front might squeeze out a sprinkle or flurry in spots, but the low levels will be dry and most places won’t see any precipitation. Sunday will be sharply colder following the frontal passage. The sky becomes partly to mostly sunny, and the high will be in the mid 40s with a brisk north wind.
NEXT WEEK: The weather will stay dry Monday through Wednesday with a warming trend. We will be back in the 50s Monday, followed by low 60s Tuesday and mid 60s Wednesday. A weather system will bring a significant rain event to the state Thursday.
ON THIS DATE IN 1899: One of the most significant cold outbreaks to ever affect the United States occurred in early to mid-February. For Feb. 8-11, the statewide average temperature across Iowa was 14.6 degrees below zero, making it the coldest four-day stretch on record in the state. On Feb. 8, Sioux City experienced its coldest day on record, with a daily average temperature of 24 degrees below zero. On Feb. 11 it reached its second-coldest temperature on record, with a low of minus 31. Overall the coldest readings were obtained on the morning of Feb. 9, when reported low temperatures included minus 21 at Keokuk, minus 23 at Des Moines, minus 33 at New Hampton, minus 35 at Le Mars, minus 38 at Estherville and minus 40 at Sibley. The cold across the middle of the country was so extreme and persistent that ice floes moved down the Mississippi River into the Deep South, emerging into the Gulf of Mexico near New Orleans on Feb. 17. This has happened only one other time: Feb. 13, 1784.
The temperature at Birmingham would drop to minus 10 degrees on Feb. 13, 1899 — still the coldest temperature on record for the city.
ON THIS DATE IN 1973: One of the greatest snowstorms in Southeastern United States history occurred Feb. 9-11, 1973. This storm dropped 1 to 2 feet of snow across a region that typically sees only an inch or two of snow per year. New all-time snowfall records were established in a number of locations, including Rimini, South Carolina, with 24 inches; Darlington, South Carolina, with 18 inches; and Macon, Georgia, with 16.5 inches.
In Alabama, only the southern half of the state was snow-covered. Cities like Eufaula and Union Springs had more than 1 foot of snow; north Alabama had nothing.
ON THIS DATE IN 1994: A devastating ice storm struck Mississippi, Louisiana and extreme northwest Alabama. Freezing rain began falling over northern Mississippi during the early morning and continued until midday on Feb. 10. Ice accumulated 3 to 6 inches thick on exposed objects in the affected area. The weight of the ice downed power lines, trees and tree limbs. Nearly 1 million people were without power after the storm, some for a month. In Alabama, seven counties over the northwest part of the state were devastated. Trees blocked roads, which were already impassable because of the ice glaze. Three- to 5-inch rainfall amounts occurred, resulting in a heavy glaze over the northwest and even causing flooding elsewhere.
ON THIS DATE IN 2011: Up to 4 inches of snow fell across parts of north and west Alabama; in Arkansas, some places saw more than 1 foot.
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