SNOW! Much of north and central Alabama enjoyed snow before dawn, and it continues in many areas at daybreak. But as warmer air aloft moves over the state, the snow will change to rain for most places over the next six hours with temperatures rising into the mid 30s. Roads early this morning are covered with snow and ice and are dangerous, but hopefully there will be some improvement this afternoon. See the ALGO Traffic site for road information.

Rain will end this evening, but we do drop below freezing again late tonight, and some patchy black ice is very possible tonight and Saturday morning over the northern half of the state.

The weekend will be dry; clouds linger much of the day Saturday with a high in the 30s over north Alabama and 40s to the south. Sunday will be sunny; after a low in the teens and 20s, the high will be in the 40s.

NEXT WEEK: The weather will be cold and dry for much of the week with highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s. The next chance of rain will come around Saturday, Jan. 18; temperatures will be in the 50s, and there is no risk of wintry precipitation with that event.

ON THIS DATE IN 1975: At least 13 tornadoes touched down in Alabama, including an EF-3 that moved through St. Clair County. Here is the storm summary of the damage area from Bob Ferry, meteorologist-in-charge of the Birmingham National Weather Service at the time:

“Friday afternoon, January 10, 1975, a tornado moved northeastward across the center of downtown Pell City, Alabama, and stopped the First National Bank Clock at 4:11 p.m. Many buildings, mostly homes, were heavily damaged by large trees (some 5 to 6 feet in diameter near the trunk) uprooted and falling across them. Seven mobile homes were completely destroyed in a small trailer park (Smith’s), which is about one mile northeast of Pell City. The Red Cross reported that 33 people were taken to the hospital for treatment, where only three were admitted — those, not too serious. There were no injuries in the trailer park because residents had taken shelter in a nearby brick building. None of the trailers had tie-downs.” In total along the path, at least 54 homes were destroyed and 307 damaged. Fifteen trailers were destroyed and 27 businesses damaged or destroyed. One person was killed at a service station.

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