James Spann has the weekend forecast for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

EARLY THIS MORNING: We have a weakening band of showers and storms pushing through north and west Alabama, and a few isolated storms over the central counties of the state. The air mass remains very humid with high precipitable water values; dewpoints are in the 70s.

The morning activity will continue to weaken in coming hours and slowly dissipate. With some midday sun, the air heats up quickly and becomes unstable this afternoon, meaning additional thunderstorm formation. With colder air aloft, some dynamic forcing coming into play and a boundary left over from the morning convection, the storms later today could be strong to severe. The Storm Prediction Center has a slight risk (level 2 out of 5) now defined for much of north Alabama.

Where storms form this afternoon, they could produce large hail and strong, potentially damaging straight-line winds. Most of these heavier storms will come from 2 until 9 p.m. in random places. If you have an outdoor event planned, just keep a close eye on radar and pay attention to severe thunderstorm warnings if they are required. The high today will be in the upper 80s in most places.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: SPC has a marginal risk (level 1 out of 5) defined for much of the state tomorrow. While a decent part of the day will dry, a few scattered storms will form tomorrow afternoon with potential for some hail and strong, gusty winds. The chance of any one spot seeing a storm tomorrow is about 1 in 4; otherwise the day will be partly sunny, hot and humid, with a high around 90 degrees.

High-resolution model data suggests a weakening band of storms could push into Alabama during the pre-dawn hours Sunday ahead of a cold front. Then, during the day, the higher probabilities of storms will push into east and south Alabama ahead of the front. SPC has a marginal risk defined there.

A decent part of north Alabama should be dry during the day Sunday with that better chance of storms to the east and south. The sky will be partly sunny with a high between 87 and 90 degrees.

DRIER AIR NEXT WEEK: Dry, continental air rolls into Alabama Sunday night, and most of next week looks rain-free for a change, with lower humidity levels and cooler nights. Expect lots of sunshine each day with highs in the 80s; early morning lows will be well down in the 60s. Cooler spots will visit the 50s Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday mornings. Moisture levels slowly rise late in the week, and a few scattered showers could break out Friday (one week from today), but nothing really widespread.

HURRICANE SEASON BEGINS TODAY: Today marks the first day of the Atlantic hurricane season, which will run until Nov. 30. Long-term averages for the number of named storms, hurricanes, and major hurricanes are 12, 6 and 3, respectively.

Here are the 2018 names: Alberto, Beryl, Chris, Debby, Ernesto, Florence, Gordon, Helene, Isaac, Joyce, Kirk, Leslie, Michael, Nadine, Oscar, Patty, Rafael, Sara, Tony, Valerie and William.

The tropics are quiet now, and tropical storm formation is not expected through next week.

BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.

WEATHER BRAINS: You can listen to our weekly 90-minute netcast any time on the web, or on iTunes. This is the show all about weather featuring many familiar voices, including meteorologists at ABC 33/40.

CONNECT: You can find me on all of the major social networks:

Facebook
Twitter
Google Plus
Pinterest
Snapchat: spannwx

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.