James Spann forecasts a wet Friday for Alabama from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

RADAR CHECK: Rain is fairly widespread across Alabama early this morning with temperatures mostly between 47 and 54 degrees. Today will feature occasional rain, a few embedded thunderstorms and a high in the 50s. Rain will diminish by midafternoon, with just a few lingering isolated showers tonight.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: The weather turns much warmer, with highs between 66 and 74 degrees Saturday and in the 70s statewide Sunday. We expect a mix of sun and clouds both days with the chance of a few spotty showers — nothing heavy or widespread. The chance of any one spot seeing rain both days is 20-25%.

NEXT WEEK: The weather will be unsettled for much of the week with highs mostly in the low 70s. There will be some risk of showers daily; for now, it looks like the most widespread and heaviest rain will come Tuesday and Friday, but that could change in this complex pattern. There are also some signals for strong thunderstorms toward the end of the week, but it is too early to know whether there will be any risk of severe storms.

Rain amounts will be 2-4 inches for much of Alabama through Friday, March 8, and Mobile and Baldwin counties could see 4-5 inches.

ON THIS DATE IN 2007: An EF4 tornado struck Enterprise around 1:10 p.m. Eight students at Enterprise High School died in the tragedy. The fatalities at the school occurred when a concrete wall collapsed on a group of students huddled in a hallway.

The students were Michael Bowen, Peter Dunn, A.J. Jackson, Ryan Mohler, Katie Strunk, Michael Tompkins, Jamie Ann Vidensek and Michelle Wilson. A ninth fatality occurred in downtown Enterprise, 83-year-old retired nurses’ aide Edna Hays Strickland. She was standing behind a living-room window of her home as the glass shattered.

A controversy arose as national media outlets questioned whether school administrators should have dismissed school early, but nearly all local residents supported the decision to keep students at school. If the students had been sent home, no doubt the death toll would have been much, much higher.

A high-risk outlook was issued early that morning and a Particularly Dangerous Situation tornado watch was issued hours in advance. The National Weather Service Tallahassee issued a tornado warning a full eight minutes before the tornado struck the school.

Another devastating tornado struck the Millers Ferry area in Wilcox County, killing one man. That tornado also ranked as an EF4.

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