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

NEW DAY, OLD FORECAST: The overall weather pattern won’t change much for Alabama through the weekend. Look for more partly sunny, hot, humid days with scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. Most of the storms will occur between 1 and 9 p.m., and odds of any one spot getting wet will be around 40 percent. Afternoon highs will be mostly in the 90- to 94-degree range. Just what you expect in early July in Alabama.

NEXT WEEK: There won’t be much change Monday, but drier air in the mid levels could lead to a reduction in the number of afternoon storms Tuesday and Wednesday. Then, late in the week, we are getting signs from global models that a tropical wave or low could develop near the central Gulf Coast. If this happens, depending on the placement, there could be an increase in rain coverage across parts of the state Thursday and Friday. But for now this is just an idea on the table and not a forecast. We will keep an eye on the signals from models in coming days.

TROPICS: The Atlantic basin is quiet for now, and tropical storm formation is not expected through the weekend. Over in the eastern Pacific, Barbara will weaken to a tropical storm today and should dissipate before reaching Hawaii.

ON THIS DATE IN 1980: The “More Trees Down” Derecho. A bowing line of thunderstorms producing a derecho formed just east of Omaha, Nebraska, around 10 p.m. CDT on Friday evening, July 4, 1980. The system rushed east at a speed of 55 to 60 mph, reaching eastern Indiana and northwest Ohio by 8 a.m. EDT on Saturday, July 5, and the mid Atlantic coast by early evening. Measured wind gusts exceeded 80 mph at several points along the storm’s track. Six people were killed, and 67 were injured by the derecho’s winds.

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

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

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

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest
Snapchat: spannwx

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