TODAY: We’ll start the day mainly cloudy and a few showers may linger, at least through midday. After that, we’ll dry out. Skies will begin the clearing process late. Highs will be in the lower 50s to near 60 degrees. Overnight lows will be in the mid to upper 30s for most.

SUNDAY: Sunday will be an outstanding day across Alabama as we’ll have near-maximum sunshine throughout the day and afternoon highs reaching the mid to upper 60s for most. The good news: no rain to end the weekend.

MONDAY: A deepening trough over the southwestern U.S. will begin to move in our direction, which will continue the flow of warm, moist air over Alabama. Skies will become cloudy rather early in the morning, but we look to stay dry through midnight. Highs will be in the upper 60s to the lower 70s.

TUESDAY: Ridging increases over the Southeast as the trough continues to deepen to our west over the Four Corners region. More moisture will continue to flow in from the Gulf of Mexico and showers will be likely at times, especially during the afternoon and evening. Highs will be in the upper 60s to the lower 70s.

WEDNESDAY: A surface low forms to our southwest over Louisiana and will quickly move northeastward into the northern parts of the state by the early evening. A cold front will slowly work its way through Alabama and will not leave the state until late Thursday. Rain and thunderstorms will be likely and we’ll have to watch for the potential for strong to severe storms. The Storm Prediction Center has included nearly all of Alabama in a 15% severe weather risk on Wednesday. A brief tornado or two may be possible, but we’ll have a better idea once the higher-resolution and convection-allowing models come into view. Wednesday’s highs will be in the lower 60s to the lower 70s.

THURSDAY: The cold front will continue to work slowly through Alabama during a good part of the day, which will keep rain and thunderstorm chances in the forecast. We’ll have to watch to see if any of these could become strong to severe out ahead of the front. The good news is that much, if not all, of the activity will be out of the state by the late evening. Highs will be in the lower 50s to the lower 60s from northwest to southeast.

FRIDAY: The cold front and rain will be well off to our east on Friday and we’ll be left with a dry, cooler day with a mix of sun and clouds. Highs look to top out in the lower 50s to near 60 degrees from northwest to southeast.

BEACH FORECAST: Get the latest weather and rip current forecasts for the beaches from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to Panama City Beach, Florida, on our Beach Forecast Center page. There, you can select the forecast of the region you are interested in.

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