James Spann forecasts a cold, mostly dry Thursday for Alabama from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

COLD WINTER DAY: Clouds cover the northern half of Alabama early this morning, and we will maintain the risk of a few sprinkles or flurries through midmorning. Temperatures are mostly in the mid to upper 30s at daybreak; expect a high today between 46 and 55 degrees with some sun breaking through the clouds this afternoon.

Tonight will be clear and cold, with lows below freezing over the northern half of the state. Expect a sunny sky Friday with highs in the 50s and 60s.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: The weather stays dry Saturday with a partly to mostly sunny sky. The high across north Alabama will be somewhere between 55 and 60 degrees, with low to mid 60s for the southern counties. Clouds increase Saturday night, and wet weather returns to the state Sunday with periods of rain. Some thunder is possible, but there is no risk of severe storms with highs in the 50s.

NEXT WEEK: We catch a break in the rain Monday, but a surface front will settle into the state Tuesday and become stationary, bringing unsettled, wet weather through midweek. We expect occasional rain Tuesday through Thursday; amounts of 1-3 inches are likely statewide. A few thunderstorms are possible along the way, but at this point we aren’t expecting anything severe. Colder, drier air arrives Friday. Highs through the week will be seasonal, mostly in the 50s and 60s.

RAIN UPDATE: Here are rain totals so far this month, and the departure from average:

• Birmingham — 6.72 inches (2.68 inches above average)
• Anniston — 6.04 (2.18 above average)
• Tuscaloosa — 5.44 (1.42 above average)
• Dothan — 4.92 (1.12 above average)
• Huntsville — 4.23 (0.15 above average)
• Montgomery — 3.9 (0.2 above average)
• Mobile — 3.5 (1.14 below average)
• Muscle Shoals — 3.31 (0.5 below average)

ON THIS DATE IN 1772: Possibly the greatest snowfall ever recorded in the Washington, D.C., area started. When the storm began, Thomas Jefferson was returning home from his honeymoon with his new bride, Martha Wayles Skelton. The newlyweds made it to within eight miles of Monticello before having to abandon their carriage in the deep snow. Both finished the ride on horseback in the blinding snow. The newlyweds arrived home late in the night. In Jefferson’s “Garden Book,” he wrote, “the deepest snow we have ever seen. In Albermarle, it was about 3 feet deep.”

BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.