James Spann: Hot, hazy and humid Alabama weather from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

AN OCEAN OF HUMIDITY: Alabama’s weather won’t be changing much this week. After all, it is late July, so you know it will be hot and humid, and we will deal with scattered thunderstorms during the afternoon and evening hours.

Today we project a partly sunny sky, a high in the mid 90s, and the best chance of a shower or storm between the hours of 1 and 8 p.m. The chance of any one spot getting wet is about one in four, and the high resolution HRRR model suggests the highest coverage of afternoon showers will be east of Interstate-65 (but one could pop up anywhere).

TOMORROW THROUGH FRIDAY: The upper ridge is forecast to weaken slightly, meaning a gradual increase in the coverage of scattered showers and storms, and heat levels a bit lower. In fact, the GFS model is suggesting highs in the upper 80s here Thursday and Friday, but considering this is the end of July, and the typical peak of summer heat, we will keep highs in the low 90s. Thankfully no sign of any triple-digit heat for us.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Mixed sun and clouds Saturday and Sunday, scattered showers and storms (mainly during the afternoon and evening hours), and highs at or just over 90 degrees.

And, no reason to change this “persistence forecast” into next week: classic midsummer weather here across the Deep South.

TROPICS: We are getting closer to the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season (August and September), but things remain very quiet due to a large amount of dry air. Tropical storm formation is not expected this week.

GULF COAST WEATHER: It will be the usual summer setup this week on the coast from Gulf Shores over to Panama City Beach. About seven to nine hours of sunshine daily, but a passing thunderstorm is likely from time to time. Highs on the immediate coast 87-90, with mid 90s inland. The sea water temperature early this morning at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab is 86 degrees. See a detailed Gulf Coast forecast here.

WEATHER BRAINS: You can listen to our weekly 90-minute netcast anytime on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including meteorologists at ABC 33/40. We will produce this week’s show tonight at 8:30 CT. You can watch it live here.

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