James Spann says Alabama will see temps in the 80s this week from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

RADAR CHECK: We have a few showers over central Alabama early this morning, and widely scattered showers will remain possible through the day with a mostly cloudy sky. Wednesday will be generally dry with only a small risk of a shower; then we will bring back the risk of scattered showers over the northern half of the state Thursday and Friday — nothing especially heavy, nothing widespread and no risk of severe storms. The southern third of the state will be mostly dry through the week, thanks to a strong upper ridge over the Gulf of Mexico.

The big story is the warmth in coming days. Look for highs in the 70s today; we will be close to 80 Wednesday, followed by low 80s Thursday.

These are the record highs for Birmingham:

• Feb. 22 (Wednesday) — 81, set in 1897 and 2018
• Feb. 23 (Thursday) — 83, set in 2018 (also this is the warmest February temperature on record)

Other record highs across Alabama for Thursday (Feb. 23):

• Montgomery — 85 (2019)
• Anniston — 84 (1996)
• Tuscaloosa — 84 (1996)
• Huntsville — 83 (1996)
• Mobile — 82 (2022)

Friday will be much cooler for north Alabama as highs drop into the 55- to 60-degree range; highs will range from 65 to 75 across south Alabama.

NORTHERN U.S.: While the Deep South enjoys warm weather, a prolonged major winter storm will spread a large swath of heavy snow from the West Coast to the Northeast through Friday, and confidence is high that this winter storm will be extremely disruptive to travel, infrastructure, livestock and recreation in affected areas.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: The sky will be generally cloudy Saturday and Sunday over north and central Alabama with some risk of scattered showers, but the southern counties will stay dry with some sun possible both days. Highs will be mostly in the 70s.

NEXT WEEK: A weather system could bring some potential for strong thunderstorms to Alabama by late Monday afternoon and Monday night, followed by a shot of dry air Tuesday and Wednesday. More rain is possible by Thursday.

ON THIS DATE IN 1971: A tornado outbreak struck portions of the lower Mississippi River Valley and the southeastern United States on Feb. 21-22. The two-day outbreak produced at least 19 tornadoes, probably several more, primarily brief events in rural areas, and killed 123 people across three states. The tornadoes virtually leveled entire communities in Mississippi, where the storms killed 107 people, injured 1,060, and hospitalized 454 others.

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.