HOT SUMMER DAY: The sky is mostly sunny across Alabama this afternoon with temperatures in the 90s. Humidity is still relatively low, so the heat index is no factor. Tonight will be mostly fair with a low in the 70s.

THE WEEKEND: Dry weather continues across Alabama Saturday with a good supply of sunshine; the high will be in the upper 90s. Humidity will remain fairly low, helping to make the heat a little more bearable. We will introduce the chance of isolated showers Sunday, but the chance of any one spot seeing rain is only 10-20%. And the weather stays hot, with a high in the upper 90s Sunday afternoon.

NEXT WEEK: We won’t see much change Monday and Tuesday — mostly sunny, hot days with only isolated showers and highs in the mid to upper 90s. We expect to see an increase in the number of scattered showers and storms over the latter half of the week as the air becomes more unstable. We can’t promise rain for everyone, but the chance of your front yard getting wet rises to 60-70% by Thursday and Friday. Heat levels also come down, with highs in the upper 80s over parts of north Alabama by the end of the week.

TROPICS: A broad area of low pressure centered near the South Carolina and North Carolina coastline continues to produce disorganized showers and thunderstorms. Strong upper-level winds should limit any development of this system before it moves fully inland this afternoon. However, the disturbance could contribute to areas of heavy rainfall and possible flash flooding across coastal portions of the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic through tonight. The rest of the Atlantic basin is very quiet.

ON THIS DATE IN 1930: A strong upper high brought an intense heat wave to the Deep South in July. Birmingham’s high on July 12 was 106 degrees; the high on July 29 was 107.

ON THIS DATE IN 1996: Hurricane Bertha made landfall near Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina, with maximum winds of 105 mph, but the storm surge dealt the most devastation. The U.S. Virgin Islands, along with North Carolina, were declared federal disaster areas. Surveys indicate that Bertha damaged almost 2,500 homes on St. Thomas and St. John.

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