RADAR CHECK: The showers that were over parts of west and south Alabama earlier today have mostly dissipated. The sky is sunny over the northern counties, with some patchy clouds over the rest of the state. Tonight will be mostly fair with a low in the 60s; a few cooler spots could reach the 50s.

FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND: Most of Alabama will be dry Friday with only a small risk of a shower; the high will be in the mid to upper 80s. Over the weekend, moisture levels will rise, and we will bring in a chance of scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms both days. The weekend won’t be a total washout, and the sun will be out at times. Most, but not necessarily all, of the showers will come during the afternoons and evenings, and the chance of any one spot getting wet is 60-70% Saturday and 40-50% Sunday.

Due to the scattered nature of the showers and storms, there’s no way of knowing the exact timing and placement of the rain, but if you have something planned outdoors, a passing shower or thunderstorm is fairly likely from time to time. Highs over the weekend will be mostly in the low to mid 80s.

NEXT WEEK: Moist air means a daily chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms through Wednesday, mostly from 1 to 10 p.m. We are seeing some evidence drier air could enter north Alabama Thursday.

TROPICS: Hurricane season begins Saturday; for now, the Atlantic basin is very quiet and tropical storm formation is not expected for the next seven days.

ON THIS DATE IN 1948: A dike that supported a rail track on the west side of a housing development in Vanport, Oregon, suddenly collapsed. The crevasse widened from 6 feet to 60 feet and then to 500 feet wide. It took only two hours to flood the entire city. The following day, the dike on the eastern side of town collapsed also, sealing the town’s fate.

There was almost no warning for the town’s 19,000 residents. Twenty-five people drowned. The residents of the town lost all of their personal belongings, most escaping with just the clothes on their backs. Ten thousand homes were destroyed.

ON THIS DATE IN 1988: Memorial Day heralded heavy snow in some of the mountains and higher passes of Wyoming, closing roads in Yellowstone Park. McDonald Pass, Montana, was blanketed with 8 inches.

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