James Spann forecasts much warmer weather, then a lot of rain for Alabama this week from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

BIG THAW: The bitterly cold Arctic air will be scoured out of the contiguous U.S. this week thanks to an upper-air pattern change over North America. In Alabama, temperatures rise into the 50s today, 60s Tuesday and into the 67- to 74-degree range over the latter half of the week. All of the remaining snow and ice over the northwest corner of the state will melt away.

TURNING WET: The weather will stay dry today, and Tuesday we have just the risk of a few isolated showers; most of the day will stay rain-free. But a very wet period begins for Alabama Wednesday. We will have occasional rain and a few thunderstorms daily Wednesday through Saturday. Rain could be heavy at times along the way, and a few flooding issues can’t be ruled out as rain totals of 3-5 inches are expected across most of the state.

A few strong thunderstorms will be possible over the southern counties; the Storm Prediction Center has introduced a marginal risk of severe storms for Wednesday across Washington, Mobile and Baldwin counties of southwest Alabama.

Heavier thunderstorms across southwest Alabama Wednesday afternoon and night could produce strong, gusty winds.

Dry air returns to Alabama on Sunday, with a partly sunny sky and highs in the 50s, right at seasonal levels for late January.

NEXT WEEK: For now, much of the week looks dry with highs mostly in the 50s and lows in the 30s.ON THIS DATE IN 1904: An estimated F4 tornado leveled the northern part of Moundville just after midnight, killing 37 people. The tornado reportedly had a phosphorescent glow.

An engineer on a northbound Great Southern train saw the destruction right after it occurred and backed his train 12 miles in reverse to the town of Akron, where he sent a telegram for help. An infant was snatched from its crib in the lower part of town and hurled through the air. It was airborne as it passed over the demolished stores and was deposited uninjured in an old cotton field more than 100 yards away. Everything in the tornado path was swept aside, including heavily laden freight cars standing on the tracks. The tornado sucked heavy timbers from the railcars and scattered them nearby.

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