James Spann: Generally dry weather continues in Alabama through early next week

sunny friday: It’s a beautiful day in early September all over the state of Alabama. With plenty of sunshine, temperatures reach into the 80s over North Alabama. Some South Alabama communities are in the low 90s. Tonight will be mild with lows in the 60’s. You will visit cooler places in the fifties.

The weather won’t change much over the weekend, with days mostly sunny and warm and nights mild and pleasant. We’ll mention some isolated shower risks near the Georgia state line, but even there the chance of seeing rain anywhere is only 10-15%. Highs will continue to be in the 80s over north Alabama, with the low 90s to the south.

next week: Dry weather is expected on Monday and Tuesday; Then we will present some precipitation risk on Wednesday and Thursday before a cold front. It is expected that the amounts of rain will be light and intermittent, with only limited moisture. A wave of drier, cooler air arrives by the end of the week, with highs dropping into the upper 70s over northern counties of Alabama.

Football weather: Skies will be clear for high school football games across Alabama tonight with temperatures dropping into the 70s.

On Saturday, UAB will take on Georgia Southern in Statesboro, Georgia (5 p.m. ET). The sky will be cloudy at times, and rain or thunderstorms are possible during the match. Temperatures will drop from around 86 degrees at kickoff to the 80s during the second half.

Alabama will host Texas on Saturday at Bryant-Denny Stadium (6 p.m. ET). Skies will be clear with temperatures dropping from around 83 degrees at kickoff to the 70s by the second half.

Auburn will be in Berkeley to face the California Golden Bears (9:30 p.m. ET). Expect clear skies with temperatures in the high 60s during the game.

Tropical regions: Category 4 Hurricane Lee is located about 550 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands this afternoon and has sustained winds of 155 mph. There will be fluctuations in intensity due to eyewall replacement cycles, but the hurricane is expected to remain at Category 4-5 strength for the next five days.

The National Hurricane Center’s official track takes Lee to a point east of the Bahamas by Wednesday. From there, the group’s global model output continues to show a sharp northward shift, keeping it east of the East Coast of the United States. There is unusually good agreement among group members, leading to high confidence expectations in the role concept.

However, Lee could be close to the coast of Maine or Nova Scotia within seven days, and everyone there should pay close attention to the hurricane in the coming days.

The other system on the plate is Tropical Storm Margot in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. This is expected to become a hurricane by Sunday night, but will head north and pose no threat to land.No tropical systems will threaten the Gulf of Mexico for at least the next seven to 10 days.

On this date in 1900: A Category 4 hurricane made landfall in Galveston, Texas. It killed between 6,000 and 12,000 people, making it the deadliest Atlantic hurricane in the United States on record. The highest point in Galveston is less than 9 feet above sea level. The hurricane produced a storm surge of more than 15 feet, sweeping through the entire island.

On this date in 2012: Severe storms affected the New York City area, delaying the US Open. A tornado struck a beach club in Queens, and another tornado damaged Canarsie, Brooklyn, New York.

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