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

NOT MUCH CHANGE THROUGH THE WEEKEND: A very persistent upper air pattern, involving a strong upper high across the Southeast, will persist through the weekend, meaning little day-to-day change in our weather. Mostly sunny, hot days and fair nights will continue through Sunday.

A few isolated afternoon showers or storms could pop up Thursday over the southern counties of the state, and any showers over the weekend will be few and far between. Highs will be in the 92- to 95-degree range today, but heat levels back down a bit Thursday through Sunday, with maximum temperatures in the 88- to 92-degree range.

The upper high will deflect the major rain-producing systems west and north of Alabama; there is a risk of severe storms again today in a broad zone from Texas to the upper Atlantic coast. Some of the cities in enhanced risk areas include Dallas, Little Rock, St. Louis, Baltimore and Philadelphia.

The good news is that the severe weather pattern will relax for these areas later this week, and no severe storms are forecast anywhere in the nation by Friday.

NEXT WEEK: Hot and mostly dry weather will continue Monday through Wednesday, with afternoon highs not too far from 90 degrees. But the upper ridge weakens, and we will bring in the chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms Thursday and Friday with highs in the upper 80s.

TORNADO SOUTHWEST OF KANSAS CITY: Survey teams will be out this morning reviewing tornado damage near Lawrence, Kansas; some estimated the tornado on Tuesday to be a mile wide. Injuries were reported, but no fatalities. Thankfully, the tornado dissipated just before getting into Kansas City as the parent storm moved northeast.

ON THIS DATE IN 1982: Two significant tornadoes ripped through southern Illinois. The most severe was an F4 that touched down northeast of Carbondale, then moved to Marion. The twister had multiple vortices within the main funnel. Extensive damage occurred at the Marion Airport. Ten people were killed and 181 were injured, while 648 homes and 200 cars were damaged or destroyed, with total damages around $100 million.

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