HEAT AND HUMIDITY: Ridging will continue to keep our hot, humid air mass in place across Alabama today and through the end of the work week. With partly to mostly sunny skies, there will be a small chance of a few scattered showers and storms this afternoon. A heat advisory is in effect for all of Alabama as highs hit the mid to upper 90s and heat indices as high as 105-108 degrees. Thursday and Friday will be pretty much the same story as this heat wave continues.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: High temperatures will start to decrease on Saturday as a surface front approaches and slowly moves into the state. Scattered to numerous storms will be possible, and highs drop to the upper 80s to the mid-90s. These conditions will persist into Sunday with the front lingering in Alabama.

NEXT WEEK: We’ll be back to a normal summer forecast to start off the work week. Skies will be mainly sunny with only a small chance of an isolated shower or two. Highs on Monday and Tuesday will be in the lower to mid 90s.

After that, the Global Forecast System is painting the potential of a tropical system forming just off the Florida Gulf Coast and moving westward through the rest of the week. That may keep us relatively dry into the second weekend of August, but it’s too soon to tell.

TROPICS: A large tropical wave a few hundred miles east of the Lesser Antilles is generating some shower and thunderstorm activity. Although development has been slow due to dry air, conditions are expected to improve as this system moves over the warmer waters of the southwestern Atlantic Ocean. It’s possible that a tropical depression could form later this week near the Greater Antilles or the Bahamas. The chance of formation through the next 48 hours remains low, but there is a 60% chance of development over the next seven days. The Southeast will need to watch as this system could potentially affect the coast from St. Petersburg, Florida, to Norfolk, Virginia.

ON THIS DATE IN 1987: The deadliest tornado in 75 years struck Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, killing 26 people and injuring 200 others. The twister caused more than $75 million damage along its 19-mile path, leaving 400 families homeless. At the Evergreen Mobile Home Park, up to 200 of the 720 homes were flattened.

For more weather news and information from James Spann, Scott Martin and other members of the James Spann team, visit AlabamaWx.