Need rain? You may be in luck next few days

West Alabama will be under yet another set of heat advisories on Wednesday, but rain chances will be going up statewide.

And they could stay up for parts of the state through the weekend.

The National Weather Service said some storms today could be on the strong side, with high winds and heavy rain, but widespread severe weather isn't expected. Storms will be possible all day but will be the most likely starting this afternoon.

Temperatures will again be hot, with temperatures expected to peak in the low to mid-90s along with high humidity.

Here are today's expected highs:

The combination of heat and humidity could make it feel as hot as 109 degrees in some of the heat advisory areas, according to forecasters.

Heat advisories have again been issued for the western parts of the state:

* A heat advisory will be in effect from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Wednesday for the west-central Alabama counties of Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Marengo, Pickens, Sumter and Tuscaloosa.

The weather service said the heat index could rise as high as 106 this afternoon in those areas.

* A heat advisory will be in effect from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. Wednesday for Choctaw, Washington, Clarke, Escambia, Mobile and Baldwin counties.

The weather service said that heat index values up to 109 are expected in those areas.

The weather service expects temperatures to back off by a few degrees starting on Thursday. The reason is a front is expected to attempt to work its way through the state, and it will pump up rain chances.

Here are Thursday's expected highs:

The front could stall out somewhere over the state, causing unsettled weather and continued chances for rain this weekend.

Forecasters think those higher rain chances will last into next week as well, along with some "cooler" than average temperatures.

Some parts of Alabama stand to get 3 to even 4 inches of rain, according to the seven-day precipitation outlook from NOAA's Weather Prediction Center:

Some storms could be strong during the next few days, but widespread severe weather isn't in the forecast.