RADAR CHECK: Scattered showers and storms continue to develop across Alabama on this summer afternoon; they are most numerous over the western and southern counties. Away from the showers, temperatures are between 88 and 92 degrees, not too far from average for mid-July. Showers will fade this evening, and tonight will be mostly fair with a low in the 70s.

An ocean of humidity will cover the Deep South Thursday through the weekend, and we expect scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms during the afternoons and evenings (mostly between 2 and 10 p.m.). The chance of any one location seeing rain daily is 50-60%; otherwise, we expect a mix of sun and clouds with highs generally in the low 90s.

NEXT WEEK: We will keep a close eye on a nasty heat ridge west of Alabama; global models are somewhat inconsistent on the eastward extent of the ridge and the excessive heat. The latest runs are keeping the most intense heat to the west; for now, it looks like we can expect routine summer weather with partly sunny days and scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and storms. Highs will be in the low to mid 90s.

TROPICS: An area of low pressure a little more than 700 miles east of Bermuda continues to produce disorganized showers and thunderstorms well to the south of its center. Environmental conditions are forecast to be marginally conducive for this system to become a subtropical depression or storm during the next couple of days while it meanders over the central Atlantic. By the weekend, the low should turn northward, bringing the system over cooler waters and potentially limiting additional development. The National Hurricane Center gives it a 50% chance of development over the next five days; one way or another, it will remain far from land.

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

ON THIS DATE IN 1995: An intense heat wave affected much of the Midwest for a four-day period beginning on this day. The worst effects of the heat were noted in the Chicago metropolitan area, where 583 people died from it. Temperatures across the region reached as high as 104 degrees.

ON THIS DATE IN 1996: Hurricane Bertha made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, with maximum winds of 105 mph, but the storm surge dealt the most devastation. The U.S. Virgin Islands and North Carolina were declared federal disaster areas. Surveys indicate that Bertha damaged almost 2,500 homes on St. Thomas and St. John. For many it was the second hit in 10 months, since Hurricane Marilyn had devastated the same area. The primary effects in North Carolina were to the coastal counties and included storm surge flooding and beach erosion, roof damage, piers washed away, fallen trees and damage to crops.

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