Meteorological spring is just days away on March 1, but Alabama will continue to get a preview this week.

The National Weather Service is forecasting some of the warmest temperatures of 2024 in the next few days, although there could be some rain to deal with as well.

But good news: Even with the warmth there is no severe weather in the forecast for the state for at least the next week, according to NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center, although there could be rumbles of thunder in some areas tomorrow.

Temperatures on Wednesday are forecast to top out in the 70s for most of the state except north Alabama, which will be in the 60s, according to weather service forecasts. (Wednesday’s temperature forecast is at the top of this post.)

Thursday is forecast to be just as warm for many places, but clouds will be on the increase as a cold front approaches.

Here are Thursday’s forecast highs:

Thursday’s front is expected to bring some rain, but not a whole lot, and no severe weather is expected, according to the weather service. There could be a few thunderstorms, however.

Temperatures on Friday will be a few degrees cooler but not by much, even after the front passes. Here are Friday’s forecast highs:

Next week could be even warmer still, with highs approaching the 80-degree mark in parts of Alabama by next Tuesday, Feb. 27:

And warmer temperatures could carry over into the first part of March as well. NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center is forecasting a higher probability of above-average temperatures in Alabama through March 5.

Here is the eight- to 14-day temperature outlook:

It should be noted, however, that this is a flip from earlier CPC forecasts, which suggested Alabama could have a higher probability of below-average temperatures for the same timeframe.

Here’s an earlier forecast — issued Feb. 2 — which was expecting a 55-60 percent probability of below-average temperatures through March 1: