Let me say up front we are not saying the chance of rain is zero. A few small isolated afternoon and evening showers could pop up almost each day, but the pattern sure looks pretty dry for the northern half of Alabama through at least the middle of next week.

RADAR CHECK: We have a few small showers on the radar this afternoon over East Alabama, generally east of I-65. They are moving southward.

As expected, heat levels are down today, with temperatures in the 80s.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND: Not much change; partly to mostly sunny days, fair nights, with most of the scattered afternoon showers or storms over the southern half of the state. Highs generally in the 87- to 90-degree range.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: Mostly fair weather for the high school games tonight, with temperatures falling into the 70s; it won’t be quite as humid as the first two weeks of the season.

Auburn will host Clemson tomorrow evening at Jordan-Hare Stadium (8 p.m. CT kickoff); the sky will be mostly fair with temperatures falling from near 77 degrees at kickoff to near 74 at the final whistle. Can’t say there is no chance of rain, but the risk of a shower is so small we won’t mention the possibility for now.

Alabama opens the season against Southern Cal in Arlington, Texas, tomorrow evening (7 p.m. CT kickoff). The game is inside the “Jerry Dome,” but no weather issues for tailgaters. Clear weather is the story, with temperatures falling from the low 80s at kickoff into the 70s.

NEXT WEEK: We would see a few widely scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and storms by mid-week, but the prospects of widespread rain are small with a ridge building again. Heat levels creep up again, and mid 90s are likely by Wednesday.

HERMINE: The tropical storm is moving through eastern South Carolina this afternoon. It will move northeast and should emerge in the Atlantic tomorrow afternoon, coming off the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

There is potential for big trouble Sunday and early next week for the coasts of Delaware and New Jersey as Hermine stalls just offshore as steering currents collapse. It will be more of a hybrid system by then (baroclinic/post-tropical), but whatever you call it, the potential is there for major storm surge flooding.

INVEST 92L: The wave in the Central Atlantic has its invest number back. It is in very dry air and development is not expected in the short term, but some slow organization is possible by early next week as it moves into the Caribbean. Way too early to know if this will be an issue for the U.S. or any other land mass.

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