James Spann forecasts a dry start for the work week in Alabama from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

DRY AIR: Look for sunny, mild days and clear, cool nights for most of Alabama through Wednesday. The high today will be between 67 and 74 degrees, followed by 70s Tuesday and Wednesday. We will bring in a chance of some rain for the southwest corner of the state Wednesday as a disturbance over the Gulf of Mexico moves northward.

THURSDAY/FRIDAY: That feature will bring a chance of rain to all of Alabama Thursday into Friday; amounts will vary from less than one-half inch for the northern third of the state to 2-3 inches to areas in south Alabama south of U.S. 84. While there could be some thunder, we don’t expect any severe thunderstorms.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: For now, it looks like most of the state will be dry and warm Saturday, with a high in the low to mid 80s. Then, a cold front will bring showers and storms in here Saturday night into Sunday. At this time severe storms are not expected, and the high Sunday will be in the 70s.

NEXT WEEK: A dry air mass will settle into the state Monday, and for now much of the week looks dry and pleasant with mild afternoons and cool nights. We see no sign of any high-impact event here (severe storms, tornadoes, flooding, etc.) for the next seven to 10 days.

RAIN UPDATE: Here are updated rain totals for the year so far, and the departure from average:

• Anniston — 20.36 inches (3.65 inches above average)
• Tuscaloosa — 20.19 (3.52 above average)
• Birmingham — 19.98 (2.75 above average)
• Huntsville — 17.75 (0.79 above average)
• Muscle Shoals — 17.41 (1.28 above average)
• Dothan — 16.48 (0.59 above average)
• Montgomery — 16.32 (0.27 above average)
• Mobile — 12.75 (4.54 below average)

ON THIS DATE IN 1935: Severe dust storms across Iowa and Kansas closed schools and highways. Dodge City, Kansas, experienced its worst dust storm of record, with dense dust reported from the morning of April 9 until after sunset on April 11. The sky was almost as dark as night at times during the daylight hours. The thick dust suspended traffic on highways and railroads and also suspended most business in town.

ON THIS DATE IN 1979: This day was known as “Terrible Tuesday” to the residents of Wichita Falls, Texas, as a massive tornado rated F4 on the Fujita scale ripped through the city, killing 43 people and causing $300 million in damage. Another tornado struck Vernon, Texas, killing 11 people.

ON THIS DATE IN 2009: Eleven tornadoes touched down in Alabama, including an F3 that moved through parts of Marshall, Jackson and DeKalb counties. It was down for 33 miles with many houses heavily damaged in the area along Lake Guntersville and in subdivisions to the east, with a few destroyed. Many mobile homes and boat houses were also destroyed along its path. Five people were injured.

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

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