James Spann: Colder air moving into Alabama today; It’s frozen hard tonight

RADAR CHECK: We have a few showers this morning across the southern half of Alabama; The light rain will end during the morning as colder, drier air moves in from the north. Skies will be partly sunny across most of the state today, with highs ranging from the upper 40s in northern counties to the mid 50s near the coast.

A severe frost is expected tonight, with lows between 16 and 24 degrees across the northern half of the state. By daybreak, a frost is likely as far south as the Gulf Coast. Friday will be cold and dry, with highs mostly in the 40s; Some communities in the Tennessee Valley could keep temperatures above 30 degrees all day despite sunny skies.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Expect partly to mostly sunny skies Saturday. After a low in the 20s, the high will be in the 50s. Clouds will increase on Sunday and some rain could reach western and northern counties by the afternoon. There will be extensive rainfall on Sunday night.

NEXT WEEK: Favorable rain is likely for Alabama in the first half of the week. We expect waves of rain of 2 to 3 inches across much of the state Monday through Wednesday. Some thunderstorms are possible, but we do not anticipate any risk of severe thunderstorms. Highs will top 60 on Monday and Tuesday, but colder air returns in the second half of the week, with the northern half of the state likely to experience freezing temperatures on Thursday and Friday morning.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: The Alabama high school football championship games will be played this week at Protective Stadium in Birmingham.

There are three games today (3A at 11 a.m., 1A at 3 p.m. and 5A at 7 p.m.). Skies will be partly sunny for day games, with temperatures in the mid to upper 40s. Skies will be clear for Thursday night’s game, with low 40s at kickoff quickly falling into the 30s.

Three games conclude the event on Friday (4A at 11 a.m., 2A at 3 p.m. and 6A at 7 p.m.). The sky will be clear; Temperatures will be in the low to mid 40s for day games and 30 degrees are expected for most of the night games.

The C-USA championship game will be played in Jacksonville on Friday; Jax State hosts Western Kentucky (kickoff 6 p.m. at Amfirst Stadium). Skies will be clear and temperatures will drop to over 30°C during the game.

ON THIS DATE IN 1953: A tornado outbreak occurred across northeast Louisiana, southeast Arkansas and western Mississippi. At least four confirmed tornadoes touched down. The most powerful attack was rated F5 because it destroyed the city of Vicksburg, Mississippi. This tornado first touched down west of the Mississippi River in eastern Madison Parish, Louisiana. It crossed the Mississippi and raced through downtown Vicksburg. The tornado claimed 38 lives on the ground within a seven-mile radius.

ON THIS DATE IN 1954: Multiple tornadoes touched down across the eastern third of Alabama. A strong tornado began in Ohatchee, then moved through Wellington and Angel communities before dissipating near Piedmont. A total of 37 houses were destroyed and 50 others were damaged. In addition, 15 other buildings were destroyed and 28 others were damaged. 26 people were injured. Another tornado touched down north of Clayton. It flew due east, brushing the northwest side of Eufaula before moving into Georgia, where one person was killed.

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