WARMER DAY: Temperatures are mostly in the 60s across Alabama this afternoon, but some places down south (like Mobile) have reached the low 70s. We have a mix of sun and clouds, and tonight will be dry with a low in the 40s.

CHRISTMAS WEEKEND: Saturday will be dry and mild for late December. The sky will be partly sunny with a high in the 60s; some places near the Gulf Coast will reach 70 degrees. Clouds increase Sunday, and rain moves into the southwest counties during the day. Rain is likely statewide Sunday night and Monday. Some thunder is possible, but no severe thunderstorms are expected. Rain amounts will be around 1 inch over the northern two-thirds of the state, with potential for 2 inches near Mobile.

REST OF NEXT WEEK: Rain will move out of the state Monday night, and the rest of the week will be dry with a cooling trend. By Thursday and Friday highs will be in the upper 40s over north Alabama, with low to mid 50s to the south. Subfreezing temperatures are likely by early Friday morning over the northern half of the state.DROUGHT MONITOR: The drought monitor released Thursday shows that 89% of Alabama remains either in drought or abnormally dry. An extreme drought is defined around Muscle Shoals, Birmingham and Gadsden.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: For Saturday’s Birmingham Bowl (Troy vs. Duke, 11 a.m. kickoff at Protective Stadium), the sky will be partly sunny with temperatures rising from near 60 at kickoff into the mid 60s by the final whistle — a very comfortable day.

ON THIS DATE IN 1989: The most significant cold spell of the century for the Deep South occurred Dec. 22-26. New Orleans experienced 64 consecutive hours at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit and 81 out of 82 hours below freezing. Birmingham’s low on Dec. 22 was 4 degrees; it was even colder Dec. 23-24, with a low of 1 degree both mornings. On those days the low at Huntsville was 3 degrees below zero.

Even more amazing was the snowfall that was occurring over the eastern Florida Panhandle and Florida Peninsula up the Georgia Coast. A Gulf low that crossed the Sunshine State was responsible. It snowed in Tampa and Daytona Beach. It was the most widespread snowstorm in the history of the state. Two inches fell at Savannah and 3.9 inches in Charleston, South Carolina. As the low moved up the coast, it intensified, dumping an astonishing 15 inches of snow at Wilmington, North Carolina, and 13.3 inches at Cape Hatteras.

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