James Spann: A few showers in Alabama Thursday; hot and dry Friday

RADAR CHECK: South Alabama is dry with a good supply of sunshine this afternoon, but a few scattered showers and storms are in progress over the northern half of the state. Heavier ones are over Pickens and Sumter counties at mid-afternoon. Showers will fade tonight after sunset.

Not much change tomorrow; a cold front will be approaching, but models continue to suggest most of the meaningful rain along the front will be northeast of Alabama. We will mention the chance of a few scattered showers mainly for the northern quarter of the state tomorrow afternoon; the afternoon high will be in the upper 80s and low 90s.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Friday will feature a hot afternoon with a high in the mid 90s in many areas, but thankfully humidity levels will be low as a dry airmass will be in place. On Saturday another front approaches from the north and we will bring in a chance of scattered showers statewide. Nothing heavy or really widespread, but some rain is possible especially during the afternoon hours and Saturday night. Models hint that front will stall out somewhere near the Alabama/Tennessee state line on Sunday, meaning the risk of showers will continue. The high Saturday will be close to 90, followed by low to mid 80s Sunday.

NEXT WEEK: We will mention a chance of scattered showers and possibly a few thunderstorms Monday and Tuesday; global models suggest the weather will trend drier over the latter half of the week. Highs will be in the low to mid 80s. See the video briefing for maps, graphics and more details.

TROPICS: A tropical wave located over the eastern tropical Atlantic a few hundred miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde islands continues to produce disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Environmental conditions remain conducive for additional development of this system during the next several days, and a tropical depression is likely to form late this week or this weekend. This system is expected to move westward to west-northwestward at around 15 mph across the eastern and central tropical Atlantic into early next week.

NHC gives this an 80% chance of development, and this afternoon most model ensemble members continue to suggest it will gain latitude and turn north into the open Atlantic before reaching the U.S. or the Gulf. But it is still too early to know the final destination or intensity.

No tropical storms or hurricanes are expected across the Gulf for at least the next 7-10 days.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Auburn hosts Ball State Saturday evening (6:30 p.m. kickoff) … a shower can’t be ruled out during game, otherwise mostly cloudy with temperatures falling from the upper 80s into the upper 70s.

Alabama will host LA-Monroe Saturday evening (6:45 p.m. kickoff) … a shower is possible, otherwise mostly cloudy. Temperatures will fall from near 82 degrees at kickoff into the upper 70s by the fourth quarter.

UAB will play Navy at Annapolis, Maryland Saturday (2:30 p.m. kickoff) … a passing shower or thunderstorm is likely during the game. Temperatures will be in the low to mid 80s.

ON THIS DATE IN 1970: During the early evening hours, amid a severe hailstorm at Coffeyville, Kansas, a stone 17.5 inches in circumference and nearly two pounds in weight was recovered. Average stone size from the storm was five inches in diameter, with another stone reportedly eight inches in diameter. This hailstone is currently the third-largest hailstone in the U.S.

ON THIS DATE IN 1979: Hurricane David made landfall in South Florida as a Category 2 storm. It caused 15 deaths in the U.S. Hurricane David was a Category 5 over the Dominican Republic were over 2,000 people died.

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit the Alabama Weather Network.