Some cold air will move back into Alabama later this week – and it could stick around for a while.

But the cold may not make the entire state shiver, at least not through the weekend.

The National Weather Service believes Alabama will see some rain on Thanksgiving Day as a cold front moves through the state.

But behind the front will be a blast of Arctic air that will cause temperatures to drop in north and central Alabama this weekend. South Alabama will be cool, but as cold as the rest of the state, according to the forecast.

There’s a chance for a few storms on Thanksgiving Day, but there’s still no severe weather risk for Alabama — or the rest of the country — in forecasts from NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center. These are the severe weather forecasts for Thursday:

According to forecasters, the mercury will start to drop on Friday.

Highs on Friday will have a wide range: North Alabama could only reach the mid 40s, while South Alabama could reach the mid to upper 50s. These are the weather forecasts for Friday temperatures:

Then the cold will settle across the state Friday evening through Saturday morning, with the potential for a widespread freeze. These are the expected low temperatures tonight Friday:

Saturday will be more of the same: highs in the 40s and 50s for the northern two-thirds of the state and 50s and low 60s in southern Alabama. Here are Saturday’s expected highlights:

More freezing temperatures are expected from Saturday night to Sunday morning:

Sunday looks very cold again for north and central Alabama. Here are the weather forecasts for Sunday:

Colder weather looks set to continue into next week, according to the weather service. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center agrees and has a very high chance of below average temperatures for Alabama from November 30 to December 4. (See that prediction at the top of this post.)

Another long-range forecast, the eight- to 14-day temperature outlook, continues the forecast of below-average temperatures for the state through mid-December:

While freezing temperatures are widely possible this weekend, you won’t see any frost or freeze warnings for central Alabama. The National Weather Service in Birmingham, which makes forecasts for all of central Alabama, explained why on Monday: