Alabama is in the midst of another heat wave this week.

Temperatures today are expected to reach the mid-90s across a wide area, and some spots may even get close to 100 degrees.

Heat advisories will be in effect for most of the state today.

But there’s a chance for below-average temperatures during the first part of August.

Don’t worry about getting a jacket — it won’t be cold by any means. But in August in Alabama we’ll take what we can get.

The Climate Prediction Center’s six- to 10-day temperature outlook (shown at the top of this post) is forecasting a decent chance for below-average mercury readings for at least part of the state from Aug. 2-6.

North Alabama and most of central Alabama have a 40-50 percent probability of below-average temperatures. The rest of central and part of south Alabama have 33-40 percent odds, and most of the rest of south Alabama is expected to have near-average temperatures.

The exception? Areas very close to the coast, which have a 33-40 percent probability of above-average temperatures.

So what is average, anyway?

Here are some average high temperatures for a few Alabama cities for Aug. 2:

Bay Minette: 90 degrees

Birmingham: 91 degrees

Cullman: 88 degrees

Dothan: 93 degrees

Fort Payne: 91 degrees

Gadsden: 91 degrees

Greenville: 92 degrees

Guntersville: 89 degrees

Huntsville: 92 degrees

Mobile: 91 degrees

Montgomery: 94 degrees

Muscle Shoals: 92 degrees

Selma: 94 degrees

Troy: 91 degrees

Tuscaloosa: 92 degrees

The bad news is that August is August, and it will continue to be on the hot side.

The Climate Prediction Center’s eight- to 14-day outlook isn’t as promising, and suggests parts of northeast Alabama will have near-average temperatures but the rest of the state will lean toward warmer than average from Aug. 4-10:

And the overall outlook for August is more of a question mark:

The CPC is forecasting equal chances of either above-average or below-average temperatures for most of the state over the course of next month.

The exception is part of eastern Alabama, which has a 33-40 percent chance for above-average temperatures.