James Spann forecasts clearing, cooling and drying for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

TRENDING DRIER: Rain lingers mainly over the eastern half of Alabama early this morning. The rain will continue to taper off from west to east in coming hours, and by afternoon any lingering showers will be over the southeast counties of the state. The day will be breezy and cooler, with temperatures falling through the 50s, and some clearing could begin over north and west Alabama this afternoon.

Tonight will be clear and cold; temperatures will drop into the 25- to 30-degree range over north and central Alabama by daybreak.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: We get a needed chance to dry out Friday and Saturday with sunshine in full supply both days. The high will be around 50 degrees Friday and in the 57- to 60-degree range Saturday. We expect clouds to increase Sunday, but for now we will leave the forecast dry for the northern half of the state. Some scattered light rain is possible Sunday over south Alabama. The high Sunday will be in the low 60s.

NEXT WEEK: We will maintain a dry forecast for now on Monday, but a cold front will bring occasional showers Tuesday through Thursday. Thankfully rain  won’t be all that heavy next week; the latest guidance from the Weather Prediction Center suggests amounts will be in the one-half-inch to 1-inch range for most of the state, and severe storms for now are not forecast. We have a chance of reaching the low 70s Tuesday before cooler air returns over the latter half of the week.

RAIN UPDATE: Here are some rain totals so far this year, and the departure from average:

• Tuscaloosa — 17.84 inches (10.29 inches above average)
• Birmingham — 16.67 (9.94 above)
• Muscle Shoals — 16.44 (9.88 above)
• Anniston — 15.84 (9.22 above)
• Huntsville — 14.96 (8.06 above)
• Montgomery — 10.34 (3.45 above)
• Mobile — 6.9 (0.94 inch below average)

ON THIS DATE IN 1899: Birmingham dropped to 10 degrees below zero, the coldest temperature on record for the city. At the time observations for Birmingham were taken at the old U.S. Weather Bureau office in Fountain Heights. Other Alabama lows that cold morning: minus 7 in Tuscaloosa, Elba and Opelika; minus 5 in Greensboro; minus 11 in Florence; minus 12 in Decatur; minus 15 in Oneonta; minus 16 in Hamilton and Scottsboro, and minus 18 in Valley Head. Greensboro had 5 inches of snow on the ground.

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