SEVERE CLEAR: With a sunny sky, temperatures are in the 50s across Alabama this afternoon. Tonight will be clear and cold, with a freeze for the northern half of the state, where lows will be between 26 and 32 degrees.

Thursday will be sunny with a high between 56 and 64 degrees. On Friday, expect a partly sunny sky with highs in the 60s. We will introduce the chance of a few showers Friday afternoon across the southwest counties of the state, and a few scattered showers are possible statewide Friday night.

STORMY WEEKEND: A dynamic weather system with strong wind fields will bring rain and thunderstorms to Alabama. Occasional showers are likely Saturday, but it won’t rain all day, with highs between 68 and 73 degrees. Winds out of the south will ramp up, with gusts to 25 mph by afternoon.

An organized batch of rain and strong thunderstorms will roll into the state late Saturday night into early Sunday morning. The Storm Prediction Center maintains a risk of severe storms for areas west of Alabama, including parts of Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, east Texas and west Tennessee.

For now, there is no formal risk of severe thunderstorms defined for Alabama Saturday night and early Sunday due to the lack of surface-based instability and somewhat low storm relative helicity values. But there is no doubt storms could produce strong, gusty winds as they move through. Models are trending a little slower; the main window for the heavier storms will come from about midnight Saturday through 9 a.m. Sunday. Rain amounts of 1-2 inches are likely statewide.

The sky will begin to clear late Sunday; the day will be breezy and cool, with highs in the 50s. The Tennessee Valley of north Alabama could hold in the 40s.

NEXT WEEK: The weather will be cool and dry Monday and Tuesday. Global models now suggest the rest of the week will stay rain-free.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: The Alabama Super 7 high school football championships will be played tonight through Friday in Tuscaloosa at Bryant-Denny Stadium. The weather stays dry through Thursday night; expect temperatures falling through the 40s for tonight’s 7A title game (Thompson vs. Central Phenix City). The high in Tuscaloosa Thursday will be close to 60 degrees.

The day Friday should be dry with a high in the 60s, but we will introduce the chance of showers Friday night during the 7A title game (Clay-Chalkville vs. Saraland). It won’t be heavy or widespread.

ON THIS DATE IN 1913: A Dec. 1-6 snowstorm dumped a record total of 45.7 inches in Denver, Colorado.

ON THIS DATE IN 1983: An F3 tornado moved through Selma before dawn; it was down for 13 miles. One person was killed at the Rangedale Housing Project. There was heavy damage at Selma University, where seven students were injured in a dorm.

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