DRY SUMMER PATTERN: With a sunny sky, temperatures across Alabama this afternoon range from the upper 80s over the northern counties to the upper 90s at Mobile. Tonight will be fair with a low between 66 and 76 degrees.

Alabama’s weather will stay dry through the weekend with mostly sunny days and fair nights. Heat and humidity levels will slowly rise; expect highs in the mid 90s. A brief, isolated storm can’t be ruled out Sunday near the Gulf Coast, but even there most places will stay dry.

It sure looks like next week will be the hottest of the summer for the Deep South. Highs will be between 97 and 101 degrees most days, with lows in the 70s. A strong upper ridge and the associated sinking air will keep most of the state dry. The National Weather Service will be issuing heat advisories, warnings, etc., for high heat-index values.

The upper ridge will weaken in seven to 10 days with lower heat levels and the return of scattered showers and thunderstorms.

TROPICS: The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has identified four areas to watch across the Atlantic basin; of those four, only one has a decent chance of development. This is Invest 98L in the eastern Atlantic. It is forecast to turn north over the open Atlantic and most likely will remain far from land.

Closer to home, an area of disturbed weather over the southeastern Bahamas is forecast by early next week to move into the Gulf of Mexico, where a broad area of low pressure could form. Thereafter, some slow development of this system is possible, and a tropical depression could form as it moves westward and approaches the Texas coast by the middle of next week. The NHC gives this disturbance a 40% chance of becoming a depression or storm.

No tropical systems will threaten the central Gulf Coast (Gulf Shores to Panama City Beach) over the next seven days.

In the eastern Pacific, Hilary remains a major Category 4 hurricane off the coast of Mexico with sustained winds of 145 mph. It will make landfall on Baja California Sunday, and the tropical moisture plume will move up into the southwest U.S. Sunday and Monday with potential for major flooding across parts of southern California, southern Nevada and far western Arizona.

ON THIS DATE IN 1925: During the late morning a severe hailstorm struck southeastern Iowa, destroying crops along a path 6 to 10 miles wide and 75 miles long. The hail also injured and killed poultry and livestock, and caused $2.5 million damage. The hailstorm flattened cornfields to such an extent that many had to leave their farms in search of other work.

ON THIS DATE IN 1931: The Yangtze River in China peaked during a horrible flood that killed 3.7 million people directly and indirectly over the next several months. This flood was perhaps the worst natural disaster of the 20th century.

ON THIS DATE IN 1991: Hurricane Bob brushed the Outer Banks of North Carolina; it would make landfall the following day on Long Island. Bob left extensive damage throughout New England in its wake, and 18 fatalities were reported in association with the system. The loss of life and most of the damage occurred as a result of high winds and rough seas. There were six confirmed tornadoes during its passage. Bob is the most recent hurricane to hit the New England states directly as a hurricane.

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