RADAR CHECK: We have the classic case of scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms across Alabama today. Showers and storms are moving slowly to the east/southeast, and stronger storms are dumping heavy amounts of rain in this moist, unstable air mass. Away from the showers, we have a mix of sun and clouds with temperatures between 87 and 90 degrees. Showers will fade once the sun goes down.

The weather won’t change much Friday. It will be a partly sunny day with scattered showers and thunderstorms developing, mostly from 1 until 9 p.m. The high will be not too far from 90 degrees, just below average for late July in Alabama.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: The air will become more stable as an upper ridge develops and builds in over the region. Look for partly to mostly sunny, hot, humid days with just a few isolated showers or storms during the afternoon and evening hours. The chance of any one spot getting wet both days is 15-25%, and highs will be mostly in the low 90s.

NEXT WEEK: Hot, humid summer weather continues with partly sunny days and potential for a few widely scattered showers or storms each afternoon. Highs will be mostly in the low 90s; a few spots over west Alabama could reach the mid 90s.

TROPICS: A broad trough of low pressure over southeast Georgia is expected to move off of the southeastern United States coastline later this evening. Environmental conditions are forecast to be marginally conducive for some gradual development over the weekend and into early next week while the system drifts slowly offshore. The chance of development is 10% over the next 48 hours and 30% over the next five days. The rest of the Atlantic basin, including the Gulf of Mexico, remains quiet.

So far this season, there have been five named tropical systems in the Atlantic basin. The next names on this year’s list are Fred, Grace, Henri, Ida, Julian, Kate, Larry, Mindy, Nicholas, Odette, Peter, Rose, Sam, Teresa, Victor and Wanda.

ON THIS DATE IN 1993: The levee holding back the flooding Mississippi River at Kaskaskia, Illinois, ruptured, forcing the town’s people to flee on barges. The incident at Kaskaskia was the most dramatic event of the flood. At 9:48 a.m. the levee broke, leaving the people of Kaskaskia with no escape route other than two Army Corps of Engineers barges. By 2 p.m., the entire town was underwater.

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