The weather pattern for Alabama over the next week looks to be peppered with rain.

Rain will be possible in the state starting later this afternoon into tonight and will last into Friday, according to forecasts from the National Weather Service.

Some showers or drizzle will be possible in some areas going into Saturday, and then it could briefly stay dry until later on Sunday.

Then more chances for rain will arrive on Monday into Tuesday. Tuesday will bear watching in case strong storms become an issue, according to the weather service — but no severe weather is in the official forecast from the Storm Prediction Center yet.

The rain could really add up over the next week. The map (at the top of this post) from NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center shows that parts of the state could get 2 to 4 inches of rain over the next seven days.

The WPC forecast suggests that areas in west Alabama could see some of the higher totals.

Temperatures are forecast to increase statewide over the next few days. After cool days expected today and Friday, the mercury is expected to climb over the weekend and into next week, with no late-season arctic blasts on the horizon.

In fact, the temperature outlook for next week (March 5-9) shows that Alabama has increased probabilities of above-average temperatures: