The drive home this evening looks to be a nice one, but some may have to deal with some bright sunshine if driving westbound. Only a few fair-weather clouds are dotting the skies. As of 2 p.m., a few places were tied as the warm spot at 84 degrees. Gadsden was the cool spot at 79 degrees. Birmingham was sitting at 82 degrees.

Temperatures will drop into the upper 70s to the lower 80s at 5 p.m., into the mid-60s to the lower 70s by 8 p.m. and into the lower 60s to the lower 70s by 10 p.m. Overnight lows will bottom out in the upper 50s to the mid-60s. Skies will be mostly clear throughout the night.

Wednesday will be warm with a little more humidity in the air — just enough that a few isolated showers may be possible during the afternoon, mainly south of I-85 and east of I-65. The rest of the state will remain dry with highs topping out in the lower to mid-80s.

REST OF THE WEEK: On Thursday we’ll have a small chance of a few isolated showers over the southern half of Alabama during the afternoon. More moisture will work into the state ahead of a cold front on Friday, increasing our shower and thunderstorm chances, especially during the afternoon and evening. Those rain chances look to stay around through the day on Saturday, while Sunday may end up being dry for much of Alabama. Highs will be in the lower to mid-80s for Thursday, the upper 70s to the lower 80s on Friday, the mid-70s to the lower 80s on Saturday and back up to the upper 70s to the lower 80s for Sunday.

LONGER TERM: Using the Shelby County Airport as a center point, we can get a good average of what to expect temperature-wise from today through much of the first week of November. We’ll stay in the upper 70s to the mid-80s through next Wednesday before we have a big cooldown, into the 50s and 60s for the most part. Hot chocolate days are close by.

TROPICS: Maximum sustained winds for Tropical Storm Epsilon were up to 60 mph at 1 p.m. Movement was to the north-northwest at 12 mph and the center was about 675 miles east-southeast of Bermuda. A Tropical Storm Watch has been issued for Bermuda as Epsilon will be making a close pass to the east on Friday, potentially as a hurricane. While it is too soon to determine the exact details of Epsilon’s track and intensity near the island, there is a risk of direct impacts from wind, rainfall and storm surge on Bermuda. Epsilon is no threat to the U.S. mainland.

We also have a trough of low pressure that extends from the northwestern Caribbean Sea near the northeastern Yucatan peninsula southeastward into the southwestern Caribbean Sea. This system is producing disorganized showers and thunderstorms well to the east of the trough axis. Upper-level winds are expected to remain unfavorable for significant development while the system drifts westward over the next few days. The chance of formation is near zero within two days and 10% through five days.

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