James Spann: Fewer showers, rising temperatures for Alabama from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

HEAT LEVELS CREEPING UP: The high in Birmingham has been below 90 degrees for four consecutive days thanks to clouds, but, with a slight increase in the amount of sun, we could touch 90 degrees this afternoon as the upper low over Louisiana drifts westward and begins to lose its influence. Still, the air is very moist, and we will maintain the chance of scattered showers and storms. We note rain showers this morning moving northward across Central Alabama; more will form this afternoon and early tonight.

THE WEEKEND: High humidity levels will continue (after all, this is August in Alabama); we will have a mix of sun and clouds tomorrow and Sunday with “scattered, mostly afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms.” The chance of any one spot getting wet is about one in three both days, with a high around the 90-degree mark.

NEXT WEEK: Not much change Monday and Tuesday, but it looks like the upper ridge will weaken again over the latter half of the week, with an increase in the number of showers and thunderstorms, and highs will drop back into the 80s Wednesday through Friday.

NINE YEARS AGO TODAY: Birmingham’s high was 102 degrees; it was in the middle of a nasty heat wave that featured 10 consecutive days of triple-digit heat, with a peak of 105 on Aug. 15, 2007. Just a reminder we can have some big-time heat this time of the year.

AT THE BEACH: A flash flood watch remains in effect today from Dauphin Island and Gulf Shores eastward to Destin, but weather conditions will improve over the weekend, with increasing amounts of sunshine and fewer showers and thunderstorms. See a detailed Gulf Coast forecast here.

TROPICS: The Atlantic basin remains very quiet, and tropical storm formation is not expected through next week. In its updated 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook released yesterday, NOAA calls for a higher likelihood of a near-normal or above-normal season. Forecasters now expect a 70 percent chance of 12 to 17 named storms, of which five to eight are expected to become hurricanes, including two to four major hurricanes. The initial outlook called for 10 to 16 named storms, four to eight hurricanes and one to four major hurricanes. The seasonal averages are 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes. The season runs through the end of November.

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