James Spann forecasts a long stretch of quiet, dry weather for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

COOL MORNING: Here are some temperatures just before sunrise across Alabama:

• Oneonta — 48
• Cullman — 50
• Remlap — 50
• Heflin — 50
• Gadsden — 51
• Pell City — 52
• Anniston — 53
• Decatur — 53
• Good Hope — 53
• Huntsville — 54
• Muscle Shoals — 54
• Bessemer — 54
• Birmingham — 55
• Tuscaloosa — 58
• Montgomery — 62
• Mobile — 67

A very dry air mass now covers Alabama, and we are forecasting sunny, warm days and clear, pleasant nights through Friday. The high will be in the low 80s today, followed by mid 80s Wednesday. Heat levels inch up a bit Thursday and Friday, with highs between 84 and 87 degrees, but humidity levels will remain relatively low.

THE WEEKEND AND NEXT WEEK: The dry pattern will persist for much of the state. The weekend will be warm and dry, with highs in the 80s, and most of next week will remain rain-free as well. For those of you involved with agriculture or contraction that need a good, long dry spell, this is your chance. Highs next week will be in the upper 80s most days, a little above average for mid-September in Alabama.TROPICS: The National Hurricane Center continues to monitor two tropical waves in the Atlantic, both with a low chance of development over the next five days. The lead wave in the Central Atlantic could see a higher chance of development in five to eight days as it will be near the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico then. It’s too early to know whether it will be an issue for the U.S. coastline, but global models suggest a northward turn before reaching North America.ON THIS DATE IN 1988: Hurricane Gilbert smashed into the Cayman Islands, and as it headed for the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico it strengthened into a monster hurricane, packing winds of 175 mph. The barometric pressure at the center of Gilbert reached 888 millibars, a record for any hurricane in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean until Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Gilbert covered much of the Gulf of Mexico, producing rain as far away as the Florida Keys.

ON THIS DATE IN 2008: Hurricane Ike made landfall as a Category 2 storm near Galveston. Due to its immense size, Ike caused devastation from the Louisiana coastline all the way to the Kenedy County region near Corpus Christi, Texas.

BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.

For more weather news and information from James Spann and his team, visit AlabamaWx.