James Spann forecasts a hot, mostly dry week for Alabama from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

SUMMER IS ALMOST HERE: This week will look and feel like summer across Alabama and the Deep South. Highs through the week will be close to 90 degrees for most places with partly to mostly sunny days and fair nights. We will bring in the chance of a few scattered showers or storms Thursday and Friday for the northern third of the state with a weak front to the north, but south Alabama will stay dry.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND: Don’t look for much change. We expect hot, dry weather for the southern counties of the state and a few scattered showers and storms for north Alabama, mostly during the afternoons and evenings, nothing widespread or heavy. Highs will stay close to 90 degrees — not a bad kickoff to the summer season.

REST OF NEXT WEEK: There is evidence we could see an increase in the number of showers and thunderstorms across Alabama by the middle of next week as the upper ridge weakens; highs drop into the mid 80s by then.

SEC TOURNAMENT: The SEC baseball tournament begins Tuesday in Hoover and runs through Sunday. The weather looks very favorable, with partly to mostly sunny days, fair nights and highs around 90 degrees. There is an outside risk of a brief passing shower or storm during the afternoons and evenings Friday through Sunday, but otherwise the weather will be dry.

ON THIS DATE IN 1957: A tornado touched down southwest of Kansas City and traveled 71 miles, cutting a swath of near destruction through the southeastern suburbs of Ruskin Heights and Hickman Mills. The tornado claimed the lives of 45 people and left hundreds homeless.

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