MONDAY: After a cold start, a weak cold front will move through Alabama that will be starved of moisture, but there may be just enough for a very light shower or a few sprinkles to fall. Overall chances will be less than 20%. Highs will be in the mid-50s to the mid-60s from northwest to southeast.

TUESDAY: The cold front will be well to our south, but skies will continue to stay partly to mostly cloudy. The good news is that temperatures will be similar to Monday’s, reaching the mid-50s to the mid-60s.

WEDNESDAY: A strong cold front will be getting its act together west of us, but we will be in the warm and moist air advection out in front of that activity. Skies will be mostly cloudy. At this point, rain looks to hold off until the late night and overnight, so “Hump Day” looks dry. Highs will be in the lower to mid-60s.

THURSDAY: A deepening low will be moving up from the Texas Gulf Coast to start out Thursday and heading northeast throughout the day. It will move across the Mississippi River around the Memphis area late into the night. As it heads in this general direction, scattered showers and thunderstorms will form out ahead of the low. Unlike the previous few systems, we will actually have some instability during the evening and into overnight. Combine that with decent shear and helicity values, and there looks to be the potential for isolated damaging wind gusts and an isolated tornado or two in any severe storms that may form. For now, timing is confined to the afternoon through the late night Thursday, but that will be better refined as we get closer. Highs will be in the lower 60s to the lower 70s.

FRIDAY: The cold front will exit the state before we get to sunrise Friday, the first day of 2021, as the low will move along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to the north-northeast, eventually pulling moisture out of the area around or before midday. Before that happens, we may still have a strong storm or two before dawn, but the instability will be dissipating, so the threat will be smaller. Much cooler air will move in throughout the day and will keep afternoon highs in the mid-40s to the upper 50s.

SATURDAY AND SUNDAY: High pressure will begin to build back in over the Southeast, which will help to make our skies mainly clear for the first weekend of 2021. Saturday will feature a mix of sun and clouds with highs in the mid-40s to the mid-50s. Sunday will feature mostly sunny skies and slightly warmer temperatures, with highs in the upper 40s to the upper 50s.

For more weather news and information from James Spann, Scott Martin and other members of the James Spann team, visit AlabamaWx.