Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 455 AM EDT Mon Jul 01 2013 Valid 12Z Mon Jul 01 2013 - 12Z Wed Jul 03 2013 ...Record breaking heat wave will continue out West... ...Flash flooding possible all along the Eastern Seaboard... Not many changes are expected during the short range period as a rather stagnant weather pattern remains set up over the Nation. An expansive upper ridge anchored over the Great Basin will bring more days of temperatures approaching or exceeding record highs across much of the Western U.S.. Triple digit readings will be commonplace over the Southwestern corner of the country...but temperatures could also exceed the century mark in the valleys of the Northern Rockies...Intermountain West...and Pacific Northwest. In terms of precipitation across the West...weak impulses of energy dropping down the eastern side of the expansive ridge should help trigger scattered convection along the Central and Southern Rockies during the afternoon and evening hours. A deep upper trough closing off in the East will linger over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys before getting nudged westward by a strong ridge retrograding in the Western Atlantic. A rich supply of moisture funneling northward between the deep trough and strong ridge will create a ripe environment for showers and thunderstorms all along the Eastern Seaboard. Some intense storms will be possible...but the main threat with this set up will be the heavy rains and potential for flash flooding. Showers and thunderstorms will also continue to break out across the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys as shortwave energy rotates within the closed low center. West of the closed low center...a strong surface high spread through the north central U.S. and down into the Central Plains will make for dry and pleasant conditions the next few days. Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php