James Spann forecasts a warm, dry Monday for Alabama, followed by possible strong storms Tuesday from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

WARM START TO APRIL: Today will be another warm, dry day for Alabama, with a high in the low 80s in most places and a mix of sun and clouds. The weather becomes active late Tuesday and Tuesday night as an organized band of showers and thunderstorms moves into the Deep South.

The Storm Prediction Center has defined an enhanced risk (level 3 out of 5) of severe thunderstorms for the Tennessee Valley of north Alabama; a slight risk (level 2) extends as far south as Demopolis, Clanton and Ranburne. For south Alabama, a marginal risk (level 1) is in place.

The primary window for strong to severe thunderstorms will come from around 4 p.m. Tuesday through 2 a.m. Wednesday. The main threat for Alabama will come from strong, potentially damaging straight-line winds. The main parameters needed for tornadoes will be to the north, although an isolated tornado or two can’t be ruled out across north Alabama Tuesday night. Some hail is possible as well.

Rain amounts will be one-half to 1 inch for the northern half of Alabama and less than one-half inch for the southern counties.

Wednesday will be breezy and much cooler, with highs between 57 and 64 degrees over north Alabama and lingering clouds. South Alabama will see lots of sun Wednesday with a high in the 60s. Thursday and Friday will be sunny and cool statewide with a high in the 60s.

FROST/FREEZE THREAT: We have frost potential over the northern two-thirds of Alabama Friday morning and possibly Saturday morning. Colder spots could see a freeze. Growers will need to monitor temperature forecasts.

THE WEEKEND: Dry weather continues over the weekend with lots of sun and highs in the 70s. The next chance of showers will be around the middle of the following week.

ECLIPSE WEATHER: Alabama will experience a partial solar eclipse one week from today, April 8. For now, we are forecasting a partly sunny sky.

ON THIS DATE IN 1960: The first weather satellite, TIROS 1 (Television and Infra-Red Observation Satellite) began sending pictures back to Earth. The TIROS series would have little benefit to operational weather forecasters because the image quality was low and inconsistent. The most critical understanding achieved from the new technology was the discovery of the high degree of organization of large-scale weather systems, a fact never apparent from ground and aircraft observations.

ON THIS DATE IN 2023: An EF-3 tornado moved through northern Madison County near Hazel Green; one person was killed. An EF-1 tornado moved through parts of Marion and Winston counties.

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