THIS AFTERNOON: Clouds are increasing across Alabama this afternoon ahead of an upper trough, but the low levels are dry, and we don’t expect anything more than a few sprinkles across the state tonight. The low will be in the mid 50s.Dry weather continues Wednesday through Friday with mostly sunny, mild days and fair, cool nights. Highs will be in the mid 70s Wednesday, and then between 77 and 81 degrees Thursday and Friday, about 10 degrees above average for early November in Alabama.

THE ALABAMA WEEKEND: A cold front will approach Saturday, and we are going to introduce some risk of showers for the northern and western counties during the afternoon and evening — nothing too heavy or widespread, as the main dynamic support will be lifting well to the north of here. The sky will be mostly cloudy with a high in the upper 70s. The front will wash out Sunday, but a few isolated showers are still possible across the state. Sunday will be mostly cloudy with a high between 74 and 78 degrees.

NEXT WEEK: For now, the week looks generally dry and mild as an upper ridge holds across the Deep South. Highs will be mostly in the 70s, with lows in the 50s. There’s no sign of any major cold snaps through mid-November.TROPICS: Tropical Storm Lisa in the Caribbean is now packing sustained winds of 60 mph and is expected to be a Category 1 hurricane at the time of landfall along the Belize coast Wednesday night. The system will dissipate inland over Mexico by Friday; it is no threat to the Gulf of Mexico or the United States.

Newly formed Tropical Storm Martin is a high-latitude system in the Atlantic, well northeast of Bermuda. Sustained winds are 50 mph, and it is expected to reach hurricane strength Wednesday night before becoming an extratropical, cold-core North Atlantic system Thursday and Friday. It will remain far from land.Elsewhere, a broad area of low pressure is expected to develop over the weekend across the southwestern tropical Atlantic or the eastern Caribbean. Slow development of the system is possible as it moves generally northward this weekend.

TORNADO SEASON: Alabama’s tornado season is here; it runs from November through May. Thankfully, we see no severe weather threats for the state through mid-November.

ON THIS DATE IN 2014: Up to 6 inches of snow fell in Gilbert, South Carolina.

BEACH FORECAST: Click here to see the AlabamaWx Beach Forecast Center page.

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