CLEARING: The clearing process continues across Alabama this afternoon. The sky is partly to mostly sunny across much of the state, with lingering clouds over the eastern counties. The sky becomes mostly fair tonight with a low between 48 and 54 degrees.

Thursday will be dry and mild, with a partly sunny sky and a high in the 70s.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Clouds thicken Friday, and a weather system will bring more rain to Alabama Friday afternoon, Friday night and into Saturday morning. The Storm Prediction Center has defined a slight risk (level 2 out of 5) of severe thunderstorms for areas south of a line from York to Greenville to Dothan. A marginal risk (level 1) is in place as far north as Florence, Snead and Ranburne.Storms over south Alabama Friday night could produce hail and strong winds, and an isolated tornado can’t be totally ruled out. For north and central Alabama, the severe weather threat looks low at this time due to the lack of surface-based instability.

The bulk of the rain should come from about 3 p.m. Friday through 9 a.m. Saturday. Rain amounts across Alabama will be generally between 1 and 3 inches; a few isolated flooding issues are possible, but for now it doesn’t look like flooding will be especially widespread. Clouds will linger through Saturday, but a surge of cooler, drier air will arrive Saturday night. The highs Friday and Saturday will be between 68 and 72 degrees.

Sunday will be sunny and cooler, with highs between 57 and 64 degrees.

NEXT WEEK: Global models suggest most of next week will be dry across Alabama with highs in the 60s on Monday, followed by low to mid 70s Tuesday through Friday. The next significant rain most likely will come at some point during the following weekend, March 15-16. While some of the colder pockets across north Alabama could be close to freezing Monday morning, there’s still no sign of any major, widespread late-season freeze for the Deep South for the next 10 days.ON THIS DATE IN 1962: The strongest nor’easter of the century struck the Mid-Atlantic region on March 5-9, 1962. Known as the “Ash Wednesday Storm,” it caused more than $200 million in property damage (in 1962 dollars) and significant coastal erosion from North Carolina to Long Island, New York. It was estimated to have destroyed or significantly damaged 45,000 homes in New Jersey alone. The Red Cross recorded that the storm killed 40 people.

ON THIS DATE IN 1967: An F4 tornado cut a 30-mile path across Walker and Jefferson counties. It struck Sumiton, Rocky Hollow, Dilworth, Empire and north Warrior. The tornado caused heavy damage at Dilworth and killed a 27-year-old woman. It lifted after passing near Warrior. Fifty homes were damaged or destroyed across Walker and northern Jefferson counties. Two people died.

ON THIS DATE IN 1996: Six tornadoes, two of which were deadly, formed over central Alabama before dawn. One tornado hit northwestern Selma, killing four people and injuring 40. Another tornado moved through Montgomery; it killed two people and injured 17.

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