James Spann Alabama NewsCenter Weather Forecast January 13 from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

COLD MORNING: A secondary surge of colder air dropped into Alabama early this morning; we are starting the day mostly in the 20s over the northern half of the state… but the dry air will heat pretty effectively today, and we project a high around 50 degrees this afternoon with a good supply of sunshine. This is only about 5 degrees cooler than yesterday for most places.

Still looks like tomorrow will be the warmest day of the week; a good chance we see a high at 60 degrees with a pretty decent amount of sun through scattered clouds.

RAIN FRIDAY: A surface low will track through Alabama on Friday, bringing periods of rain, and possibly a thunderstorm. There is little surface based instability, so there is no risk of severe weather, and rain amounts of around 1/2 inch are likely. Little if any sun, and the high Friday should be in the mid to upper 50s.

THE WEEKEND: Clouds will linger into at least part of the day Saturday, but it should be dry with a high between 47 and 50 degrees. The American global model (the GFS) continues to show a surface wave of low pressure moving through the far northern Gulf of Mexico Saturday night, and spreads rain into South Alabama, with some light rain or even some light snow up into the northern counties. However, the European model, which has performed much better this year, keeps the wave in the Gulf depressed to the south, and continues to show a dry look for North/Central Alabama. This idea is also supported by the Canadian global model (GEM), and we will keep a dry forecast in place through Sunday.

Even if the GFS is correct, the air over North Alabama will be very dry, and any precipitation would be very light.

We will forecast a dry, colder day Sunday with a mix of sun and clouds, and a high between 40 and 45 degrees.

NEXT WEEK: Our weather will be cold and dry Monday and Tuesday, followed by a warming trend, and a good chance of rain later in the week. The latest (06Z) GFS is faster, suggesting rain will arrive Thursday. See the Weather Xtreme video for maps, graphics, and more details.

WEATHER BRAINS: Don’t forget you can listen to our weekly 90 minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including our meteorologists here at ABC 33/40.

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