THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Today will be a near-typical summertime day, with skies ranging from mostly clear to partly cloudy. Scattered showers and thunderstorms will again be possible, mainly during the afternoon and into the early evening, with chances around 20% to 60% from northwest to southeast. Afternoon highs will be in the upper 80s to the lower 90s.

Sunday looks to be a much drier day. I can’t completely rule out a stray shower in the extreme northwestern parts of the state, but rain will be highly unlikely. Skies will be mostly sunny to partly cloudy and highs will top out in the lower to mid-90s.

LOW RAIN CHANCES TO START THE WORK WEEK: Monday will be a nice day overall with mostly sunny skies, but we are not getting much cooling help from Mother Nature. An isolated shower may be possible for locations along and south of the I-85 and U.S. 80 corridors during the afternoon, while the rest of the state looks dry. Highs will be in the upper 80s to the mid-90s from northwest to southeast.

A little higher rain chances move in Tuesday. There will be a chance of isolated to scattered showers and storms during the afternoon, mainly south of the I-59 corridor. While rain chances are not zero north of that, a shower looks highly unlikely at this point. Highs will be a little cooler, reaching the upper 80s to the lower 90s.

INCREASED RAIN TO END THE WORK WEEK: Scattered to numerous afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms will be likely Wednesday, with chances increasing from northwest to southeast. The European model shows this solution, while the latest Global Forecast System shows a much drier day. I’ll side with the European on this package. Afternoon highs will be in the mid-80s to right at 90 degrees from north to south.

On Thursday and Friday, a few showers and storms may be possible during the morning hours with activity increasing with daytime heating. Showers and storms will be likely along and south of I-59, with a good chance north of that. Highs will be in the mid to upper 80s Thursday, reaching the upper 80s to the lower 90s on Friday.

TROPICS: As of the 10 p.m. Friday night update from the National Hurricane Center, we have two tropical storms over the Atlantic, Josephine and Kyle.

The center of Josephine was around 375 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands with a minimum pressure of 1,005 millibars. Maximum sustained winds were at 45 mph and the movement was west-northwest at 16 mph. This general motion is expected to continue for the next couple of days, followed by a turn toward the northwest late this weekend or early next week, keeping northeast of the Leeward Islands over the weekend. Josephine is expected to weaken as it encounters unfavorable upper-level winds and may be a depression by Sunday morning or earlier.

The center of Kyle was 250 miles east-southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey, with a minimum pressure of 1,006 millibars. Maximum sustained winds were at 45 mph and movement was to the east-northeast at 16 mph. A slightly faster east-northeastward or eastward movement is expected during the next few days. Some additional strengthening is possible during the next day or so; then Kyle is forecast to become post-tropical by Sunday night.

The rest of the Atlantic basin is free from any tropical activity.

ON THIS DATE IN 1787: Tornadoes were reported in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Wethersfield, Connecticut, was hard hit by the outbreak.

ON THIS DATE IN 1939: The remnants of Hurricane Two were slowly crawling across Alabama as it headed northward and eventually dissipated over New York on Aug. 20. Torrential rain fell in Alabama as a result of the storm’s slow forward movement, leading to severe flooding.

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

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