James Spann forecasts some rain for Alabama Friday, Saturday from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

OCCASIONAL SHOWERS: The sky will be mostly cloudy across Alabama through Saturday with occasional showers thanks to a surface trough nearby. The higher coverage of rain will be over the eastern half of the state, and there could be a rumble of thunder in spots. The rain won’t be continuous, and it won’t rain everywhere, but if you have something planned outdoors be ready for a shower at any time. The chance of any one spot seeing rain today and Saturday is 55-65%, and highs will be in the low to mid 80s.

The weather will trend drier on Sunday, but showers will remain possible over east and south Alabama ahead of a surface front passing through the state. Expect a mix of sun and clouds with a high between 81 and 85 degrees.

NEXT WEEK: For now, most of the week is looking dry with mostly sunny days and fair, pleasant nights. Highs will be in the 80s, lows in the 60s, but many north Alabama communities will likely reach the 50s early Monday and Tuesday mornings.FOOTBALL WEATHER: For the high school games tonight, we have a risk of showers with temperatures falling through the 70s.

Saturday, Alabama travels to Tampa to take on South Florida (2:30 p.m. CT kickoff). The day will be hot and humid, with a kickoff temperature around 90 degrees. A passing shower or thunderstorm is likely during the game, which, of course, means potential for a lightning delay.

Auburn hosts Samford Saturday at Jordan-Hare Stadium (6 p.m. kickoff). The sky will be mostly cloudy with showers possible. Temperatures will be in the mid to upper 70s.

UAB will host Louisiana Saturday at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham (6 p.m. kickoff). A shower can’t be ruled out during the game. Conditions will be mostly cloudy with temperatures falling from near 80 at kickoff to mid 70s by the fourth quarter.

TROPICS: Hurricane Lee, with winds of 85 mph, is about 490 miles south/southeast of Nantucket and is moving north at 16 mph. The system becomes extratropical within the next 24 hours as it gains latitude, and it will move into western Nova Scotia Saturday afternoon.

Tropical storm conditions and coastal flooding are expected to begin in southern New England this afternoon and spread northward along the coast of New England and over portions of Atlantic Canada through Saturday. These conditions are likely to lead to downed trees and potential power outages.

Tropical Storm Margot is in the Atlantic with winds of 70 mph; it will move little over the next five days and will stay far from land.Invest 97L in the Central Atlantic is expected to become Tropical Storm Nigel over the next few days, but it will turn north and is no threat to land.No tropical systems will threaten the Gulf of Mexico for at least the next seven to 10 days.

ON THIS DATE IN 1945: A hurricane entered the south Florida coast at Homestead, curving northward right up through the center of Florida, remaining over land, and exited near Jacksonville Beach with winds gusting to 170 mph.

ON THIS DATE IN 2004: Hurricane Ivan was approaching the Alabama Gulf Coast; it would make landfall before dawn on Sept. 16. Ivan was a Category 3 when it moved onto the coast with winds of 120 mph and a storm surge of 10-15 feet. The storm was responsible for eight deaths in the western Florida Panhandle (seven in Escambia County and one in Santa Rosa County).

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