James Spann forecasts several quiet, dry days for Alabama from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

DRY AIR MOVING IN: Alabama is rain-free early this morning with temperatures ranging from the mid 60s across the Tennessee Valley to the mid 70s over the southern half of the state. We expect a partly to mostly sunny sky today with afternoon showers confined to areas near the Gulf Coast. Northern counties will see a high in the upper 80s; temperatures reach the low to mid 90s over south Alabama.

FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND: Dry air will cover Alabama, and we expect mostly sunny days, fair, pleasant nights and lower humidity levels. A surface low is expected to form over Georgia Saturday, and that might bring a few isolated showers to far east Alabama, but the chance of any one spot seeing rain there is small (10-15%). Highs will be in the mid to upper 80s over the northern half of the state and in the low 90s to the south. Lows will be well down in the 60s, and some of the cooler spots across north and central Alabama could reach the 50s.

NEXT WEEK: The weather stays dry Monday; we will mention some risk of scattered showers Tuesday and Wednesday with the approach of a front, but moisture will be limited, and rain amounts will be light and spotty. Highs will remain in the mid to upper 80s over north and central Alabama through Wednesday, then drop into the low 80s Thursday and Friday following the frontal passage. South Alabama will be about 5 degrees warmer.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: The sky will be clear for the high school football games across Alabama Friday night with temperatures falling through the 70s.

Saturday, UAB will take on Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Georgia (5 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be occasionally cloudy, and a passing shower or thunderstorm can’t be ruled out during the game. Temperatures will fall from near 87 degrees at kickoff through the 80s during the second half.

Alabama will host Texas Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium (6 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be clear with temperatures falling from near 83 degrees at kickoff into the 70s by the second half.

Auburn will be in Berkeley to take on the California Golden Bears (9:30 p.m. kickoff). Expect a clear sky with temperatures in the 60s during the game.

TROPICS: Hurricane Lee is about 950 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands early this morning with winds of 80 mph.

It is expected to ramp up into a major, Category 4 hurricane over the weekend, passing north of the Leeward Islands and Puerto Rico. Ensemble output from global models continues to show a sharp north turn next week, and Lee is expected to remain east of the U.S. East Coast. However, the hurricane will bring huge swells, waves and a major rip-current threat as it passes to the east.

There is a chance that Lee will make landfall over Nova Scotia, Canada, in the Sept. 15-16 time frame, but it is way too early to know for sure.

Elsewhere, Invest 96L in the far eastern Atlantic is expected to become Tropical Storm Margot over the next few days, but it will turn north and will remain far from land.

No tropical systems will threaten the Gulf of Mexico for at least the next seven to 10 days.

ON THIS DATE IN 1970: A lightning bolt struck a group of football players at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, Florida. The lightning killed two people and injured 22 others. All 38 players and four coaches were knocked off their feet.

ON THIS DATE IN 1998: Two derechos occurred, with one affecting most of Pennsylvania and New York City, the other affecting central New York.

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