OCEAN OF HUMIDITY: Deep tropical moisture will remain in place across Alabama through the weekend, and scattered showers and thunderstorms will form again later today and early tonight. Rain should be a bit more scattered today; the chance of any one spot seeing rain this afternoon is 40-50%. With a mix of sun and clouds, expect a high in the mid to upper 80s.

Not much change is expected over the weekend; the sky will be occasionally cloudy Saturday and Sunday with scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms. Most, but not all, of the rain will come from noon to midnight. Stronger storms will produce heavy downpours, but the sun will break out at times. Highs over the weekend will be mostly in the mid 80s.

NEXT WEEK: Heat levels will creep up during the week as the upper ridge slowly rebuilds across the region. Afternoon highs will be in the low to mid 90s by the latter half of the week. Scattered showers and storms will remain possible daily; the higher coverage will likely come on Monday and Tuesday.

TROPICS: The Atlantic basin remains very calm, and tropical storm formation is not expected for at least the next seven days.

ON THIS DATE IN 1931: A swarm of grasshoppers descended on crops throughout the American heartland, devastating millions of acres. Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, already in the midst of a bad drought, suffered tremendously from this disaster.

ON THIS DATE IN 1979: Tropical Storm Claudette stalled over Alvin, Texas, inundating the town with 45 inches of rain in 42 hours. The total included 43 inches in 24 hours, which is the maximum 24-hour rainfall in American history.

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