James Spann forecasts a big warm-up, more dry days for Alabama from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

BIG WARM-UP: Temperatures are generally between 35 and 45 degrees early this morning, but look for a high around 80 degrees this afternoon with sunshine in full supply. The warm-up continues through midweek; expect a high in the low to mid 80s Wednesday and Thursday with sunny days and fair nights.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Friday morning will be dry, but clouds will increase during the day, and showers could reach north Alabama by afternoon. Rain and a few thunderstorms will be widespread Friday night into Saturday morning as a sharp cold front moves through. At this point severe storms are not expected due to the lack of instability; rain amounts of one-half to 1 inch are forecast. The window for the most widespread rain is from about 6 p.m. Friday through noon Saturday. However, some drizzle or light rain could linger into Saturday afternoon.

Saturday will be sharply colder. In fact, it will be a rather cold, raw day for April with temperatures only in the 50s over the northern half of the state with a brisk north wind. Add a low cloud cover and some lingering drizzle, and it won’t be very pleasant if you have anything planned outdoors.

Sunday will be brighter as the sky becomes partly to mostly sunny. Temperatures will drop into the 30s in most places over the northern half of the state, followed by a high in the 60s.

NEXT WEEK: The weather will be dry Monday and Tuesday with a warming trend. Moisture returns by Wednesday with a chance of showers, and global models are now suggesting some chance of rain could linger into Thursday and possibly Friday.ON THIS DATE IN 1906: At 5:12 a.m. local time, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit San Francisco. A devastating fire soon broke out in the city and lasted for several days. About 3,000 people died, and more than 80% of San Francisco was destroyed.

ON THIS DATE IN 1969: An F4 tornado moved through parts of Butler, Pike, Montgomery and Bullock counties in south Alabama, killing two people. The path was about 35 miles south of Montgomery.

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.