Warm temperatures are in the forecast for Alabama on Wednesday, but winter cold is lurking to the north.

Two Alabama cities had temperatures high enough on Tuesday to enter the record books. Mobile had a high temperature of 80 degrees, which broke the record of 78 degrees set in 2008 and 1971. Montgomery tied its record high, hitting 79 degrees. The last time it was that warm in Montgomery on Dec. 17 was 1984.

More above-average warmth is expected today. The National Weather Service expects today’s highs to top out in the mid- to upper 60s in north Alabama, the low to mid-70s in central Alabama, and the mid- to upper 70s in south Alabama (see the forecast for Wednesday above).

But a change is coming. Forecasters expect rain showers to move into the state later today and track to the southeast. They are expected to diminish as they head southward, and some areas may not get any rain at all.

Here are today’s rain chances through 6 p.m.:

Colder air will move in behind today’s cold front, and Thursday looks chillier across the northern part of the state. Here are Thursday’s expected high temperatures:

Thursday night will be cold, with the potential for more freezing temperatures for parts of north and central Alabama. Here are the expected low temperatures Thursday night into Friday morning:

Friday will be a few degrees colder than Thursday, with parts of north Alabama only making it into the 40s. Temperatures will be in the 50s across central Alabama and the low 60s in south Alabama. Here are the expected highs for Friday:

Friday night into Saturday morning will bring the 20s back to parts of north Alabama for overnight lows and 30s are expected all the way into south Alabama:

Saturday could be the coldest day of the week. Here are Saturday’s forecast highs:

Saturday night into Sunday morning could be the coldest night of the week:

The weather service expects temperatures to get a little warmer going into next week.

The temperature outlook for next week, which includes Christmas, is trending warmer for Alabama. The period from Dec. 23 -27 is expected to have temperatures from near average in east Alabama to above average in the western half of the state: