RADAR CHECK: Areas of light rain continue across the northern half of Alabama as a cold front moves into the state. We also note a few spotty showers over the southeast counties. Temperatures range from the 50s over the northern counties to the mid to upper 70s down south. Rain will end this evening as the front moves southward.

COOLER: Cooler, drier air rolls into Alabama tonight. Expect a good supply of sunshine Thursday and Friday with highs dropping into the 50s for the northern two-thirds of the state; lows will dip into the 30s early Friday morning.

COLDER: Even colder air arrives over the weekend. Temperatures will be between 25 and 32 degrees over north and central Alabama early Saturday and Sunday mornings. Temperatures won’t get out of the 40s Saturday; the high Sunday will be in the low to mid 50s.

CHRISTMAS WEEK: We project highs in the 50s Monday and Tuesday, followed by low 60s Wednesday and mid 60s Thursday and Friday. Global models continue to suggest we will have some rain at times Tuesday night into Christmas Day, but probably nothing too heavy.

ON THIS DATE IN 1903: Wilbur and Orville Wright made four brief flights at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, with their first powered aircraft. After having success with their 5-foot biplane kite, the brothers had realized the weather conditions in Dayton were not ideal for their flying experiments. They had written the Weather Bureau in Washington, D.C., requesting a list of suitable places on the East Coast where winds were constant.

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