James Spann: Statewide freeze tonight; a warming trend begins tomorrow afternoon

BLUSTERY: This has been a cold, windy day across Alabama with scattered snow flurries over the northern quarter of the state. Temperatures at mid-afternoon range from the mid 30s across the Tennessee Valley to near 50 across far South Alabama. Tonight the entire state will experience freezing temperatures, even along the Gulf Coast. Most places will be in the 20s early tomorrow morning, with upper teens for some of the colder spots.

WARMER DAYS: A warming trend begins tomorrow as afternoon temperatures reach the 50s. We will be in the 60s Wednesday, followed by low to mid 70s Thursday and Friday. The air will stay dry, so expect sunny days and fair nights.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Saturday will be dry and mild with a high in the 70s. Confidence in the forecast for Sunday isn’t especially high with a wide range of model solutions; we will continue to mention some risk of showers late Sunday and Sunday night, but it could be sometime early next week before the next good chance of rain returns to the Deep South. Highs will be in the 60s next week.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Saturday Alabama will host Oklahoma at Bryant-Denny Stadium/Saban Field (2:30 p.m. kickoff) … the sky will be partly to mostly sunny with temperatures in the low to mid 70s.

ON THIS DATE IN 1975: The SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in Lake Superior during a storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29 men. She was located in deep water on November 14, 1975, by a U.S. Navy aircraft detecting magnetic anomalies, and found soon afterwards to be in two large pieces.

ON THIS DATE IN 2002: The second-largest November tornado outbreak on record over the eastern United States occurred during the Veterans Day weekend of Nov. 9-11, 2002. Seventy-six tornadoes were reported in seventeen states. Of the 76 tornadoes, almost one out of every six was a killer, resulting in 36 fatalities.

In Alabama, eleven touched down, including two parallel long track F3 tornadoes. One of them hit Carbon Hill, and four people were killed along the path. Another death came from an F2 tornado in Cherokee County. In the Birmingham metro, an F2 touched down at Bessemer. This is yet another reminder November is a big month for severe weather in Alabama. Our tornado season runs from November through May.