QUIET AFTERNOON: Most of Alabama is rain-free this afternoon with temperatures in the 80s over north Alabama and low to mid 90s to the south. A few isolated storms are possible over the southeast corner of the state this evening, but other places will be dry. The low tonight will be mostly in the 70s, but some cooler spots over the northern counties will drop into the 60s.

An upper low will bring showers and thunderstorms into Alabama Friday. It won’t rain all day and it won’t rain everywhere, but a number of showers will be around through the evening. The sky will be mostly cloudy, and highs will be between 80 and 85 degrees for most communities.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND: Saturday will feature a partly sunny sky, and we will mention some risk of scattered showers and thunderstorms over the southern half of the state. Highs will be in the 80s. Generally dry weather is expected Sunday and Monday with a good supply of sunshine both days. Highs will be in the mid to upper 80s over the northern counties of the state, with low 90s to the south.

REST OF NEXT WEEK: At this point the weather looks mostly rain-free Tuesday through Friday, with only isolated showers near the Gulf Coast. Highs will be between 89 and 93 degrees for most communities.FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school games across Alabama Friday night, a few scattered showers are possible, but many stadiums will be dry. Temperatures will fall through the 70s.

UAB’s opener is tonight against North Carolina A&T at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham (7 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly fair with temperatures falling from 82 at kickoff into the 70s during the second half.

Auburn will host UMass Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium (2:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be partly sunny; we will introduce a small risk of a shower during the game. Expect a kickoff temperature near 86 degrees, falling into the low 80s by the final whistle.

Alabama hosts Middle Tennessee State Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium (6:30 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly fair with temperatures falling from near 84 degrees at kickoff into the 70s during the game.

TROPICS: Tropical Storm Idalia, with winds of 65 mph, is 120 miles southeast of Cape Lookout, North Carolina, this afternoon; it will continue to move away from the U.S. tonight and over the next few days. The system could be very close to Bermuda as a tropical storm Sunday.

Other active systems:

• Hurricane Franklin continues to move away from Bermuda this afternoon and is still packing winds of 100 mph. It will become post-tropical in the North Atlantic over the weekend.
• Tropical Storm Jose has formed in the middle of the Atlantic with winds of 40 mph; this is a junk system that will become absorbed by Franklin on Friday.
• Invest 94L in the eastern Atlantic has a good chance of becoming a tropical depression or storm, but it will turn north over the open Atlantic and is no threat to land.

Other than Idalia, no tropical systems will threaten the U.S. for at least the next seven days.

ON THIS DATE IN 1838: A major tornado, possibly the worst in Rhode Island history, passed south of Providence. It uprooted and stripped trees of their branches, unroofed or destroyed many houses and sucked water out of ponds. The tornado barely missed a local railroad depot, where many people were waiting for a train.

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