James Spann: Rain ends in Alabama later today; dry Tuesday, Wednesday ahead

RADAR CHECK: Rain is fairly widespread across Alabama early this morning; temperatures are in the 40s and 50s at daybreak. The rain will end from the northwest during the day, and by afternoon any lingering showers will be over the southeast counties.
The high today will be in the mid to upper 50s for most places, and the sky will clear tonight as dry air moves in from the west.
Tuesday will be mostly sunny. We begin with a low in the upper 20s and low 30s over the northern half of the state. This will most likely be our last freeze for at least the next 10 days. The high Tuesday will be in the upper 50s and low 60s, and highs in the 60s are likely statewide Wednesday as the big thaw continues. The sky will be mostly sunny.
The weather Thursday will stay dry and mild, with a high in the 60s, but clouds will increase by afternoon and rain will likely move into the state Thursday night. Rain will continue into Friday, especially during the morning; some thunder is possible, but severe storms are not expected. Rain amounts will be one-half to 1 inch for most of the state.
THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: No doubt this will be the most pleasant weekend so far this year, with mostly sunny, mild days and clear, cool nights. Highs will be in the 60s and lows in the 40s. Some places across south Alabama could touch 70 degrees Sunday.
NEXT WEEK: Dry and very pleasant weather continues for the first half of the week; global models suggest the next chance of rain will come by late Thursday or Friday, Feb. 6-7. There is no sign of any Arctic air, snow or ice for the Deep South through at least Feb. 10.
ON THIS DATE IN 1940: Alabama was in the midst of one of the greatest cold waves on record. After a round of snow on Jan. 23-24, 1940, bitter cold followed. Birmingham dropped to minus 10 degrees on Jan. 26 and minus 8 on Jan. 27. The city was covered with 7 inches of snow. There was ice skating on the Black Warrior River at Birmingport, with ice on the river 4 inches thick. The ice was 7 inches thick on creeks running into the river. Cullman dropped to minus 16 degrees during the peak of the cold wave.
ON THIS DATE IN 1967: Residents of Chicago, Illinois, began to dig out from the storm of Jan. 26-27, which produced 23 inches of snow in 29 hours.
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