James Spann forecasts slowly rising heat levels through the weekend from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

DOG DAYS: Alabama’s weather today will be much like recent days, partly sunny with just a few isolated showers and thunderstorms around. We note one lone shower over Cherokee County early this morning, but most of the showers will come during the afternoon and evening. Otherwise, today will be partly to mostly sunny with a high around 90 degrees. The average high for Birmingham on Aug. 6 is 91.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: An upper ridge will slowly build over the region, meaning hotter afternoons and fewer showers. Look for mostly sunny days, fair nights and highs in the low 90s Friday, followed by mid-90s over the weekend. The chance of any one spot seeing a shower is only 5% to 10% each day.

NEXT WEEK: Moisture levels will slowly rise during the week, and we will mention the typical chance of random, scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms. Otherwise, we’ll have partly sunny days and fair nights with highs in the low 90s, just what you expect in mid-August in Alabama.

TROPICS: A small disturbance southwest of Bermuda is expected to dissipate over the weekend due to dry air surrounding the system, and the rest of the Atlantic basin is very quiet. Tropical storm formation is not expected through the weekend.

RAIN UPDATE: Here are rain totals for the year so far, and the departure from average:

• Birmingham — 54.6 inches (20.75 inches above average)
• Muscle Shoals — 52.28 (19.19 above average)
• Tuscaloosa — 50.23 (17.06 above average)
• Huntsville — 47.54 (14.2 above average)
• Anniston — 46.62 (14.39 above average)
• Montgomery — 46.16 (12.71 above average)
• Mobile — 38.21 (3.29 below average)

ON THIS DATE IN 1993: Virginia experienced its worst tornado outbreak ever as 18 tornadoes ripped through the state in five hours. The most devastating tornado caused severe damage in the historic part of Petersburg. The storm then moved on to Pocahontas Island and into Colonial Heights. There, the storm ripped apart a Walmart store, killing three people and injuring nearly 200. The F4 twister was the first known violent tornado in Virginia history. It killed four people and injured 246 along its 12-mile path.

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