James Spann forecasts more hot weather for Alabama from Alabama News Center on Vimeo.

HOT LATE SUMMER WEATHER: Highs will remain in the 90s across Alabama through the rest of the week with partly sunny days and fair nights. Isolated showers and storms are possible over south Alabama this afternoon, and then statewide Thursday and Friday. Odds of any one spot seeing rain each day are only 15-25%, and most of the showers will come from 1 until 9 p.m.

LABOR DAY WEEKEND: Highs will be between 90 and 95 degrees over the holiday weekend, and as the upper ridge slowly weakens, we will mention scattered, mostly afternoon and evening thunderstorms all three days. The chance of any location getting wet daily is 30-40%; the highest coverage should be over the northern third of the state close to a surface front to the north.

NEXT WEEK: The rest of next week will feature noticeably lower heat levels, with highs in the 80s and lows in the 60s for most of the state. We will maintain the chance of mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms in scattered, random places.

GETTING DRY: Today will be the 21st consecutive day without measurable rain for Birmingham; the last time rain came down (at the Shuttlesworth Airport, where the records are kept) was on Aug. 7, when the total was 0.16 inch. The total for the month is 0.45 inch, and the deficiency for 2004 is now 5.64 inches.

TROPICS: The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two features early this morning, one a few hundred miles southeast of Bermuda and the other in the Central Atlantic about halfway between Africa and the Lesser Antilles. The chance of these developing are 10-20%. The bottom line is that the Atlantic basin remains very calm today for late August.

FOOTBALL WEATHER: UAB kicks off its season Thursday, taking on Alcorn State at Protective Stadium in downtown Birmingham (7 p.m. kickoff). There’s just a small risk of a shower during the first quarter; otherwise, the sky will be mostly fair with temperatures falling through the 80s, reaching the 70s by the fourth quarter. Jacksonville State will host Coastal Carolina Thursday (7 p.m. kickoff). There’s a small risk of a shower early in the game; otherwise, it will be mostly fair with temperatures falling into the 70s by the fourth quarter.

Alabama hosts Western Kentucky Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium (6 p.m. kickoff). A brief shower or storm can’t be ruled out during the first half; otherwise, it will be mostly fair with temperatures falling from near 89 degrees at kickoff to the upper 70s by the final whistle. Auburn will host Alabama A&M at Jordan-Hare Stadium (6:30 p.m. kickoff). Again, a shower or storm is possible, but not likely, during the first half; otherwise, it will be mostly fair with upper 80s at kickoff and upper 70s by the fourth quarter.

Troy will host Nevada Saturday (6 p.m. kickoff). There’s an outside risk of a shower or storm during the first half; otherwise, the weather will be fair with temperatures falling from around 90 degrees at kickoff to near 80 by the final whistle.

ON THIS DATE IN 1973: An F4 tornado touched down near Canaan, New York, and moved to western Massachusetts. Three people were killed in West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, when a truck stop was destroyed, and another person died in a ruined house nearby.

ON THIS DATE IN 2005: Hurricane Katrina attained Category 5 status and reached its peak strength, with maximum sustained winds of 175 mph and a minimum central pressure of 902 millibars. Meteorologist Robert Ricks at the National Weather Service in Slidell, Louisiana, issued the now famous “doomsday statement” that Sunday morning, called “the most dire weather forecast ever issued.” It began by describing Katrina as “a most powerful hurricane with unprecedented strength” that would leave the region “uninhabitable for weeks … perhaps longer.” It listed the expected damage in extensive detail, warning of profound devastation to infrastructure, including widespread building collapses, and said that the storm would launch “household appliances and even light vehicles” into the air as debris, causing “certain death” for anyone struck. The forecast also predicted that, following the storm’s passage, “water shortages will make human suffering incredible by modern standards.”

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