James Spann forecasts more unsettled weather for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

SOUPY AIR MASS STAYS IN PLACE: A moisture-laden air mass will stay in place across Alabama today with high humidity levels. A few showers have already developed early this morning, and we expect scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms this afternoon and tonight. A few spots could see heavy amounts of rain, but organized severe thunderstorms are not expected. Highs will remain in the 80s today due to clouds and rain.

FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: A few passing showers and storms are a good possibility each day, although they could be a little less numerous Sunday. Most of the showers will come from noon to midnight, but in this kind of environment you can’t rule out some rain during the late-night or morning hours. Highs will be in the mid to upper 80s Friday and Saturday and close to 90 Sunday.

NEXT WEEK: For now the weather looks pretty routine for August, with partly sunny, hot, humid days and the daily round of random, scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. Highs will be pretty close to 90 degrees each day.

TROPICS: Tropical Storm Isaias is southwest of Puerto Rico this morning with sustained winds of 60 mph. The latest forecast track from the National Hurricane Center takes it close to the Atlantic coast of Florida over the weekend, then curving northeast toward the Outer Banks of North Carolina by Monday night.

The intensity forecast is quite tricky. In the short term, Isaias is expected to move across Hispaniola. The storm’s interaction with the mountainous island should cause some weakening and disruption to the circulation. Models suggest that a new center could form, and the environmental conditions would support gradual intensification. The intensity models have been trending higher, and the official forecast is nudged upward accordingly, now showing a peak intensity of 70 mph when the storm is near the coast of Florida and the Southeast U.S. coast. It should be noted that there are models that show hurricane strength near the U.S., but, given the large amount of uncertainty, it is preferred to stay on the conservative side for now. We should have a better idea of how strong Isaias will become near the U.S. after reconnaissance aircraft sample the storm and after it passes Hispaniola later today.

Isaias will not affect Alabama or the central Gulf Coast (Gulf Shores, Pensacola, Destin, Panama City Beach). It has potential to bring periods of heavy rain and gusty winds to the Florida Peninsula, especially cities on the Atlantic coast, over the weekend.

The rest of the Atlantic basin is quiet.

ON THIS DATE IN 1970: Hurricane Celia was born in the northwest Caribbean Sea. The hurricane would reach Texas late on Aug. 3 and would be one of the worst ever to hit Texas. The storm reached its peak as it made landfall near Corpus Christi, Texas, as a strong Category 3 hurricane. Hurricane Celia was the last major hurricane to make landfall on the middle Texas Coast until Hurricane Harvey in 2017.

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