James Spann forecasts mostly quiet weather for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

RADAR CHECK: We have a fairly large area of rain across west Alabama early this morning, covering counties like Pickens, Greene, Sumter, Choctaw and Marengo just before sunrise. The rest of the state is dry with temperatures in the 60s. Look for a partly sunny sky today with a high in the mid-80s; showers will remain possible over the western half of the state through the afternoon.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Friday and Saturday will be warm and mostly dry; odds of any one spot getting wet are 5% Friday and 10% Saturday. Moisture levels rise Sunday, and we will bring in a chance of showers and possibly a thunderstorm during the day. The chance of rain for any given location Sunday is 40-50%, and the high will be around 80 degrees with a mix of sun and clouds.

NEXT WEEK: An upper low will set up west of the state, and we will have a chance of showers daily throughout the week. It won’t be a washout, but it will rain from time to time next week with the sky occasionally cloudy. Highs will be between 77 and 81 degrees.

TROPICS: Sam remains a powerful Category 4 hurricane in the Atlantic about 340 miles northeast of the northern Leeward Islands. Sustained winds are 145 mph. It will turn north over the weekend, passing east of Bermuda Saturday before heading out into the North Atlantic.

In the eastern Atlantic, Tropical Storm Victor has winds of 45 mph and is expected to become a hurricane Friday. It will turn north as well and is no threat to land.

The rest of the Atlantic basin, including the Gulf of Mexico, is very quiet.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: The sky will be mostly fair for the high school games Friday night with temperatures falling through the 70s.

For the college games Saturday:

JACKSONVILLE STATE AT KENNESAW STATE (2 p.m. CT kickoff at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Georgia): Mostly sunny and warm; kickoff temperature near 84 degrees, falling into the upper 70s by the fourth quarter.

OLE MISS AT ALABAMA (2:30 p.m. kickoff at Bryant-Denny Stadium): Partly to mostly sunny and warm; temperatures fall from near 86 at kickoff to near 80 by the final whistle.

TROY AT SOUTH CAROLINA (2:30 p.m. CT kickoff at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina): The weather will be warm and dry with a good supply of sunshine; about 88 degrees at kickoff, near 80 by the final whistle.

SAMFORD AT MERCER (5 p.m. CT kickoff in Macon, Georgia): A mostly clear sky during the game; temperatures will fall from 86 at kickoff into the upper 70s by the fourth quarter.

LIBERTY AT UAB (6 p.m. kickoff at Protective Stadium): Mostly fair; kickoff temperature near 78 degrees, falling into the low 70s by the end of the game.

AUBURN AT LSU (8 p.m. CT kickoff at Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge): A passing shower or storm is possible during the first half; otherwise mostly fair with temperatures falling from around 80 at kickoff into the mid 70s by the fourth quarter.

RACE WEEKEND: Saturday will be a mostly sunny, warm day at Talladega, with a high in the mid-80s. On Sunday, expect a mix of sun and clouds with a passing shower possible during the YellaWood 500. Most of the day will be dry, however, with a high around 80 degrees.

ON THIS DATE IN 1896: The great “Cedar Keys Hurricane” made landfall. It entered the Gulf of Mexico as the equivalent of a major hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale and struck the Cedar Keys, an offshore island chain that includes the island and city of Cedar Key, early in the morning with winds of 125 mph. The area was inundated by a devastating 10.5-foot storm surge that undermined buildings, washed out the connecting railroad to the mainland and submerged the smaller, outlying islands, where 31 people were killed.

Once it moved inland, up to 20 inches of rain fell over parts of Georgia, South and North Carolina, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. In all, 130 deaths were attributed to the storm.

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