RADAR CHECK: We have a few showers that weren’t forecast over north Alabama this afternoon; these have formed under a cold pool aloft despite very dry air near the surface. These isolated showers will end this evening, and tonight will be mostly fair with a low in the 40s.

Look for a good supply of sunshine Saturday and Sunday with highs holding generally in the 60s, although south Alabama will likely see low 70s by Sunday afternoon.

NEXT WEEK: We are forecasting the warmest weather so far this year during the first half of the week, with highs well up in the 70s. Some spots across south Alabama might even touch the 80-degree mark Tuesday. The weather will likely stay dry Monday and Tuesday; then we will bring in a chance of showers on Wednesday ahead of a cold front. Some thunder is possible, but at this time global models suggest no organized severe weather threat for the Deep South. The Storm Prediction Center is maintaining a risk of severe storms for parts of Alabama Wednesday, but at this point that scenario has no support from new model data with limited upper-air support and very little surface-based instability.

Beyond Wednesday there is considerable uncertainty; models suggest Thursday will be dry and cooler, followed by a round of showers on Friday, March 1.ON THIS DATE IN 1975: An F4 tornado tore through the southern and eastern part of Tuscaloosa. It first touched down in the Taylorville community that Sunday afternoon, then skipped northeastward before hitting the Skyland Park area and moving on to the McFarland Boulevard exit area of I-59/20. It went on into parts of Alberta City and Holt. The official path length was 14.4 miles. Along it, 289 homes were destroyed or heavily damaged, along with 20 businesses and 21 mobile homes.

The tornado nearly destroyed the new Scottish Inn motel on I-59 at McFarland. A 23-year-old housekeeper named Thelma Hill was killed when most of the second floor of the motel was sheared away by the tornado, causing a wall to fall on her.

Four other tornadoes touched down across the state, affecting parts of Walker, Cullman and Calhoun counties.

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