RADAR CHECK: Showers continue to rotate through the northern half of Alabama this afternoon as an upper trough moves through. Otherwise, it is mostly breezy and cool, with temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Showers will end this evening, and the sky becomes mostly clear tonight.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Dry weather is the story with sunny days and fair nights. Lows will be in the 40s early Friday and Saturday mornings. The high will be near 70 Friday and close to 80 Saturday. Low 80s are likely Sunday as the warming trend continues.

NEXT WEEK: It will be the warmest week so far this year, with highs between 81 and 86 degrees through Thursday. A front will bring a few showers to Alabama Thursday night or Friday, but rain amounts should be light, and there is no risk of severe storms. The high next Friday will be in the upper 70s. There’s no sign of any high-impact weather for Alabama for the next 10 days, an unusually quiet period for mid-April.

STORM SURVEY: National Weather Service Mobile determined a short-lived EF-1 tornado touched down in the Georgetown community northwest of Mobile Wednesday; it was down for only one minute.

ON THIS DATE IN 1965: Severe thunderstorms in the Upper Midwest spawned 51 tornadoes killing more than 250 people and causing more than $200 million damage. Indiana, Ohio and Michigan were hardest hit in the Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak. Although no F5s were officially reported, at least 22 tornadoes were rated F3 or F4. This is the third-deadliest day for tornadoes on record, behind the Super Outbreak of April 3, 1974, and the outbreak that included the Tri-State Tornado of March 18, 1925.

Dr. Ted Fujita discovered suction vortices during the Palm Sunday outbreak. It had been believed the reason why tornadoes could hit one house and leave another across the street completely unscathed was because the whole tornado would “jump” from one house to another. However, the actual reason is because most of the destruction is caused by suction vortices: small, intense mini tornadoes within the main tornado.

ON THIS DATE IN 2007: Severe thunderstorms, some with large hail, moved across Alabama. Five tornadoes touched down, all rated EF-0 or EF-1, including one near Bagley in far northwest Jefferson County.

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