James Spann forecasts scattered showers for south Alabama today from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

RADAR CHECK: Scattered showers are moving over the southern half of Alabama early this morning, generally south of U.S. 80 (south of a line from Demopolis to Montgomery to Opelika). The northern half of the state is dry, where a few spots have dipped into the 50s again.

A few showers will linger over south Alabama into the afternoon, while the northern counties will stay dry. Highs today will be in the 80s.

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 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 both days will be 50-60%.

Due to the scattered nature of the showers and storms, there’s no way of knowing the exact timing and placement, 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, mostly from 1 to 10 p.m. With a mix of sun and clouds, highs will be generally in the mid to upper 80s, right at seasonal levels for early June in Alabama.

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.