James Spann forecasts a hot, mostly dry weekend for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

WARM MAY WEATHER CONTINUES: We note a few widely scattered showers on radar early this morning over north Alabama, but most of the state is dry with temperatures in the 60s. The weather won’t change much through the weekend; look for a mix of sun and clouds daily with afternoon highs in the 84- to 90-degree range. Showers will remain very widely spaced through Sunday afternoon; odds of any one spot getting wet remain in the 10% to 20% range. The big rain producers will pass well to the west and north of Alabama.

NEXT WEEK: A developing upper low over the Southeast will bring a better chance of showers to the state Sunday night and Monday, but rain amounts will be light, generally less than one-quarter inch. Heat levels will come down; highs drop back into the 70s Monday through Wednesday, which is below average for late May in Alabama. Then we go back into the 80s by Thursday and Friday. Showers over the latter half of the week are possible, but they will remain isolated. The bottom line is that we don’t expect any risk of really heavy rain or severe thunderstorms for the state for the next seven to 10 days.

DRY MAY: Birmingham has experienced measurable rain on only one day this month, May 8, when the total was 0.09 inch. Of course, we still have a big surplus for the year, thanks to the wet months from January through April. The total for the year is 38.83 inches, 17.58 inches above average.

To the south, the Alabama Forestry Commission has issued a Fire Danger Advisory for 15 counties in south Alabama: Baldwin, Choctaw, Coffee, Clarke, Conecuh, Covington, Dale, Escambia, Geneva, Henry, Houston, Marengo, Mobile, Monroe and Washington. Dry conditions combined with low humidity, high temperatures and gusty winds are creating dangerous wildfire behavior. Although the state is not under any type of burn restriction, the Commission urges everyone to delay outdoor burning until conditions improve. As always, call the Alabama Forestry Commission for a burn permit. In counties under Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) restrictions, burn permits are issued for agricultural and silvicultural burning only.

ON THIS DATE IN 1957: An F4 tornado killed 20 people in Silverton, Texas. A 5,000-pound gasoline storage tank was reportedly carried 1.5 miles and dropped into a lake. Residents said the tornado “looked like red sand, boiling and rumbling.”

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