James Spann says showers and storms will increase in Alabama today from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

RADAR CHECK: A persistent band of showers and thunderstorms is over the Tennessee Valley region of north Alabama early this morning, and a flash flood warning is in effect just before sunrise for parts of Limestone and Madison counties, where 3-5 inches of rain has fallen overnight.

The band will slowly drift southward today, and the Storm Prediction Center has a slight risk of severe thunderstorms (level 2 of 5) defined as far south as Greensboro, Montgomery and Eufaula. A marginal risk (level 1) extends as far south as Thomasville, Chapman and Dothan.

Heavier storms this afternoon and tonight will be capable of producing strong straight-line winds and possibly some small hail. Away from the storms, today will be another hot, humid summer day, partly sunny with a high in the mid 90s.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: Showers and storms could linger Saturday morning over north Alabama, but by afternoon the activity will shift into the southern counties as dry air begins to push into the state. A marginal risk of severe thunderstorms is defined roughly from I-20 south.

Heat levels will drop; the high Saturday will be between 85 and 89 degrees over the northern half of the state, with low 90s to the south. Temperatures drop into the 60s early Sunday with a clear sky and dry air in place, and the day will be mostly sunny and less humid with a high around 90. The exception is far south Alabama and areas near the Gulf Coast, where a few scattered thunderstorms will be possible.

NEXT WEEK: At this point next week looks mostly dry with mostly sunny days and fair nights. Highs will be in the low to mid 90s. Afternoon storms should be few and far between.TROPICS: Tropical Storm Don, with sustained winds of 50 mph, continues to meander over the Atlantic far from land. It will become post-tropical late this weekend over the cooler waters of the North Atlantic.

Elsewhere, an area of low pressure several hundred miles west-southwest of the Cabo Verde Islands is interacting with a tropical wave to its east and producing an elongated area of showers and thunderstorms over the eastern and central tropical Atlantic. While environmental conditions appear marginal due to dry air to the north, some slow development of this system is possible through early next week as it moves westward across the central tropical Atlantic. The National Hurricane Center gives the system a 30% chance of becoming a depression or storm over the next seven days.There are no tropical systems near the Gulf of Mexico or the U.S.

ON THIS DATE IN 1983: At Vostok Station in Antarctica, the temperature dropped to 128.6 degrees below zero. This reading is the coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth.

ON THIS DATE IN 1987: An F4 tornado ravaged the Teton Wilderness and Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. The tornado’s violent winds destroyed millions of trees on a 24.3-mile track that traverses the Continental Divide at an elevation of 10,170 feet.

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