COLDER AIR DROPPING SOUTHWARD: Clouds linger across much of Alabama this afternoon, but the rain is gone, and we will be dry for the next five or six days. Temperatures this afternoon range from the 40s across the Tennessee Valley to the 60s across the southern counties of the state. Look for a clearing sky tonight; most places will see a low in the 30s.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: The weather will be cold and dry. Lows early Saturday and Sunday mornings will be between 25 and 32 degrees for the northern two-thirds of Alabama, with mid 30s to the Gulf Coast. Highs will be between 47 and 54 degrees for north Alabama, with mid to upper 50s in the south.

NEXT WEEK: A secondary surge of cold air arrives Monday and Tuesday; highs will be in the 40s across north Alabama with lows in the 20s. Some of the colder spots could see upper teens by Tuesday morning, and a freeze is likely all the way down to the Gulf Coast. Temperatures warm a bit over the latter half of the week, with highs of 60 to 65 degrees by Thursday and Friday, when global models suggest some risk of scattered light rain.

IRON BOWL: The weather will be cold and dry Saturday in Tuscaloosa for this year’s Iron Bowl (Auburn at Alabama, 2:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly sunny, and temperatures will drop from near 52 at kickoff to near 40 by the final whistle.

ON THIS DATE IN 1921: New England was in the midst of a four-day ice storm, its worst of record. Ice was more than 3 inches thick in many places following the storm, and property damage was in the millions of dollars. Northern New England received heavy snow, with more than 2 feet reported in some areas. Overnight freezing rains continued through the day at Worcester, Massachusetts, while the wind increased to a gale. Streets become impassable even on foot, and whole towns were plunged into darkness without communication.

ON THIS DATE IN 2005: Six tornadoes touched down in Alabama, all of them rated either EF-0 or EF-1. Two were in Jefferson County, one near Corner and one near Concord.

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