THROUGH THE WEEKEND: Looks like it will be wet at times during the weekend as rain chances will increase during the main daylight heating on both days, thanks in part to a weakening upper-level low that will be over the northern Gulf of Mexico. Scattered shower and storm chances will be in the 30% to 60% range today, with the higher rain chances over the eastern two-thirds of the state. Highs will be in the upper 80s to the lower 90s.

Scattered to numerous showers and storms will be likely on Sunday with highs reaching the mid-80s to the lower 90s. Most of the activity will occur during the late morning through the early evening, with rain chances topping out at 60% to 70%.

NEXT WEEK: There’s not much change in the forecast for Monday, as an elevated chance of scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms will continue mainly for the late morning through the early evening. Highs will be in the upper 80s to the lower 90s. We might need to watch for storms with gusty winds, as some drying in the mid-levels of the atmosphere is forecast.

Tuesday’s through Friday’s weather will be back to a more typical summertime pattern for early August in Alabama. Look for a good bit of sunshine early with clouds building and isolated to scattered showers and storms forming during the afternoon hours. Highs will be in the upper 80s to the lower 90s each day.

TROPICS: A tropical wave in the Central Atlantic, known as Invest 96L, is several hundred miles east-southeast of the Lesser Antilles. It looks like shear will increase as the system approaches the Leeward Islands in three to five days and will hamper the overall chance of development. If anything happens to form in this region, there is a very good chance it recurves out into the open Atlantic before getting close to the U.S. The National Hurricane Center has a 40% chance of development on Invest 96L over the next five days. The rest of the Atlantic basin is very quiet, including the Gulf of Mexico.

ON THIS DAY IN 1970: Hurricane Celia struck the coast of Texas, producing wind gusts to 161 mph at Corpus Christi and estimated wind gusts of 180 mph at Arkansas Pass. The hurricane was the most destructive on record along the Texas coast, causing $454 million damage and claiming 11 lives.

BEACH FORECAST CENTER: Get the latest weather and rip current forecasts for the beaches from Fort Morgan to Panama City on our Beach Forecast Center page. There, you can select the forecast of the region you are interested in.

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

For more weather news and information from James Spann, Scott Martin and other members of the James Spann team, visit AlabamaWx.