James Spann forecasts scattered but not widespread rain for Alabama from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

A FEW SHOWERS: We can use some rain around here; Birmingham has gone nine days without measurable rain. Tuscaloosa got a good downpour Monday, but many places were dry. We will mention the chance of a few spotty showers and storms through Wednesday, but nothing really widespread. Odds of any one place getting wet will range from 10% across the Tennessee Valley of north Alabama to 60% near the Gulf Coast. The best chance of showers will come from about 2 until 9 p.m.

Otherwise, expect a mix of sun and clouds today and Wednesday with highs between 85 and 90 degrees. The average high for Birmingham on Sept. 26 is 83.

THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: An upper ridge begins to rebuild, and the weather looks dry for most of Alabama Thursday through Sunday with mostly sunny, warm days and fair, pleasant nights. Highs will remain in the 80s, with lows in the 60s.

NEXT WEEK: A ridge will likely keep much of Alabama and the Deep South dry through the week with highs in the 80s. A few isolated showers could show up toward the end of the week as moisture levels rise, but the prospect of a big rain event is looking low for at least the next seven to 10 days.

TROPICS: Tropical Storm Philippe remains disorganized this morning with winds of 50 mph. It is about 920 miles east of the Northern Leeward islands, moving west/northwest at 13 mph. The system will be encountering dry air and shear, and the National Hurricane Center is forecasting it to weaken and become a remnant low this weekend well north of Puerto Rico.

A tropical wave, Invest 91L, is trailing Philippe in the Atlantic. It is expected to become Tropical Storm Rina 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 days.

RAIN UPDATE: Here are rain totals for the year so far, and the departure from average:

• Muscle Shoals — 35.24 inches (5.31 inches below average)
• Huntsville — 36.74 (3.24 below average)
• Dothan — 36.94 (5.07 below average)
• Montgomery — 39.58 (0.74 above average)
• Tuscaloosa — 41.23 (1.36 above average)
• Anniston — 41.73 (2.53 above average)
• Birmingham — 42.8 (0.72 below average)
• Mobile — 44.4 (7.81 below average)

ON THIS DATE IN 1898: A schoolteacher saved 32 children from death in Merritton, Ontario, when she spotted an approaching tornado and led her students to a safe corner. Unfortunately, falling debris killed one of the children and injured several others.

ON THIS DATE IN 1955: The Atlantic reconnaissance aircraft Snowcloud Five went down while investigating Hurricane Janet and was never heard from again. The commander with a crew of eight and two newspapermen reported that they were about to begin penetrating the central core of the hurricane. Hurricane Janet made landfall at peak intensity near Chetumal, Mexico, on Sept. 29. Janet’s landfall as a Category 5 hurricane on the Yucatán Peninsula was the first recorded instance that a storm of such intensity in the Atlantic made landfall on a continental mainland; prior to Janet, landfalls of Category 5 intensity were known to have taken place only on islands.

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