James Spann forecasts rain for Alabama before a dry Easter from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

RADAR CHECK: We have widespread rain early this morning along and north of a very slow-moving surface front across central Alabama. Rain will slowly expand southward today, and again we will have a big thermal contrast, with temperatures ranging from the 60s across north Alabama to the 80s over the southern third of the state. Some thunder is possible, but no severe storms are expected.

Rain will be widespread across the state tonight.

EASTER WEEKEND: Rain will continue much of the day Saturday, but it will end from northwest to southeast during the midday and afternoon. By mid-afternoon most of the rain will be from Birmingham south and east. It will be a cool day, with highs between 55 and 65 degrees for the northern two-thirds of the state; 70s are likely for the southern counties.

Sunday will be dry; the sky becomes partly to mostly sunny with highs in the 60s and 70s.

NEXT WEEK: Dry weather continues Monday and Tuesday with highs holding in the 60s and 70s. An upper low is forecast to form around the Gulf Coast by midweek with a surface low as well. This feature will likely bring some rain back into Alabama over the latter half of the week, but model consistency is poor, and it is too early to know which days will bring the highest chance of rain.

One positive note: We see no significant chance of severe thunderstorms for Alabama for at least the next seven days.

ON THIS DATE IN 1948: Six tornadoes ripped through northern Illinois and Indiana, mainly across the southern and eastern suburbs of Chicago. The hardest hit was from a tornado that moved east from near Manteno, Illinois, to near Hebron, Indiana. This storm left four people dead — three in Grant Park, Illinois, and one near Hebron, Indiana.

ON THIS DATE IN 1980: Severe thunderstorms spawned tornadoes that ripped through central Arkansas. The storms also produced high winds and baseball-sized hail. Five counties were declared disaster areas by President Jimmy Carter. A tornado causing F3 damage also affected St. Louis and St. Charles counties in Missouri, producing $2.5 million in damage.

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.