WARM SPRING WEATHER: Alabama’s weather will stay quiet through midweek with partly to mostly sunny days and only isolated afternoon and evening showers or storms. Highs will hold in the mid 80s, about 5-7 degrees above average for late April.

The chance of showers and thunderstorms will increase Thursday afternoon over the northern half of the state, and statewide Thursday night into Friday ahead of a cold front. For now, we aren’t expecting severe storms, and rain amounts will be one-half to 1 inch.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Cooler, drier air will roll into the state late Friday night, setting up a beautiful Saturday. Highs drop into the 70s over the northern half of the state with lower humidity, and temperatures drop into the 50s over much of Alabama early Sunday morning. A few colder spots over the northern half of the state could reach the upper 40s. Sunday looks mostly dry and pleasant with a high not far from 80 degrees.

A few isolated showers could return early next week as moisture levels begin to rise, but we still see no evidence of any high-impact severe thunderstorm or heavy rain through here for the next seven to 10 days.

ON THIS DATE IN 2002: During the evening, a violent F4 tornado carved a 64-mile path across southeast Maryland. The La Plata tornado was part of a larger severe weather outbreak that began in the mid-Mississippi Valley early that day and spread across portions of the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic states. In Maryland, three deaths and 122 injuries were a direct result of the storm.

ON THIS DATE IN 2014: More than 20 tornadoes touched down across Alabama. An EF-3 that moved through parts of Russell and Lee counties was responsible for 13 injuries. There were also injuries in a tornado that passed just south of Tuscaloosa, and one in north Jefferson County that affected communities like Kimberly.

To the west, a violent, rain-wrapped, long-tracked wedge EF-4 tornado tracked across northern Mississippi and through the town of Louisville in the evening, killing 10 people, injuring more than 80 and leaving major damage in its wake.

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