James Spann forecasts scattered showers for Alabama, then widespread rain Sunday from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

RADAR CHECK: A band of thunderstorms is moving through the northwest corner of Alabama early this morning; one storm was producing small hail over Colbert County just before sunrise. The rest of the state is mostly cloudy with temperatures generally in the 60s. Much like Thursday, we will mention some risk of widely scattered showers and storms later today and early tonight, but many places will be dry. The high will be in the low 80s.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday will be mostly cloudy with a few passing showers or storms possible — not raining all day, and not raining everywhere. The highs will be in the 70s over north Alabama and close to 80 over the southern counties. Rain will be more widespread Sunday as a wave of low pressure forms on a surface front over south Alabama. Still not an all-day rain, but rain is likely much of the day with highs only in the 50s over the northern counties, about 20 degrees below average for this time of the year.

NEXT WEEK: Dry air returns Sunday night, and Alabama’s weather looks rain-free Monday through Wednesday with a warming trend. Some colder spots across north Alabama could reach the upper 30s early Monday morning, but the high will be in the upper 70s by Wednesday. We will mention a small risk of a shower Thursday, followed by a better chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm on Friday.

RACE WEEKEND: A few passing showers are possible at the Talladega Superspeedway Saturday, but there’s a pretty good chance they get the races in. The sky will be mostly cloudy with a high in the 70s. Sunday’s weather continues to look wet and cold for April, with temperatures in the mid to upper 50s through the day. It won’t rain all day, but rain is a good possibility much of the day, which will make it a challenge to get the Geico 500 in. It is possible, but a delay is likely, and they might have to run on Monday when dry air returns.

ON THIS DATE IN 1927: A deadly tornado outbreak occurred across central Illinois, killing 21 people. The first tornado touched down near Hardin, traveling northeast through Carrollton, then skimmed the south side of Springfield. At Carrollton, a teacher was killed as she held the door of the school shut, saving the lives of her students.

ON THIS DATE IN 1986: A major storm system produced 10 tornadoes in Texas, one of which virtually annihilated the town of Sweetwater. The tornado struck at the unlikely time of 7:17 a.m. One person was killed and 100 were injured.

ON THIS DATE IN 2009: Eighteen tornadoes touched down across Alabama; one person was killed in Marshall County in the Asbury community.

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