WARM DAYS: Highs will remain in the 80s across Alabama through the weekend; a few spots could touch 90 degrees tomorrow afternoon for a nice summer preview. The weather will be dry today and tomorrow with a partly to mostly sunny sky, then we will introduce the chance of a few showers Friday afternoon, mainly over the northern and western counties of the state.

We will maintain the chance of a few scattered showers Saturday and Sunday. Some notes on the weekend rain chances…

*The showers each day will fairly random and scattered; not a wash-out by any means

*There could be some thunder, but we don’t expect severe storms.

*Rain amounts Friday through Sunday should be 1/2 inch or less for most places.

*Highest coverage of showers over the weekend will be over the northern half of the state

*The sun will be out at times

NEXT WEEK: Not much change. Highs generally in the mid to upper 80s; a few isolated showers could pop up on a few days. Nothing really widespread or heavy as an upper ridge holds across the region. See the video briefing for maps, graphics, and more details.

AIR QUALITY: A “code orange” air quality alert has been issued for the Birmingham metro today (Jefferson and Shelby counties) for the potential for ground level ozone.

This alert is fairly common on summer days here, and doesn’t impact the general public. The concern is for those with asthma or respiratory problems; the air quality is expected to be unhealthy for “sensitive groups”.

ON THIS DATE IN 1999: Record low temperatures for the date, were broken across parts of the Deep South. Mobile dropped to 46 degrees. Miami fell to 58; Miami Beach bottomed out at 61, and Vero Beach dropped to 47 degrees, all new records.

MAY 2003: A record-setting 516 tornadoes occurred during May 2003. In particular, during the period May 4-10, 2003, an unprecedented number of tornadoes, 393 total, affected the central and the southern United States. The tornadoes resulted in 39 deaths across four states. Six of these tornadoes were classified as violent (F4) on the Fujita Tornado Intensity Scale.

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