Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 313 PM EDT Thu Jul 04 2013 Valid 00Z Fri Jul 05 2013 - 00Z Sun Jul 07 2013 ...Flash Flooding a concern tonight and Friday for the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, central Tennessee, central Kentucky and southwestern Ohio... ...Excessive Heat Warnings remain in effect out West, but a cooling trend is in the forecast across the West... An expansive area of showers and thunderstorm activity continues tonight and Friday along the central Gulf Coast northward into the Tennessee Valley, the lower to mid-Ohio Valley, the Piedmont, portions of the south Atlantic coast and eastern Great Lakes. The moderate to heavy rainfall is expected to continue into Saturday morning as a trough of low pressure stalls over the Ozarks and out ahead of the trough, a deep fetch of tropical Gulf moisture surges northward. The higher amounts of rainfall, locally more than 5 inches of additional rainfall, are anticipated By Saturday night, the trough will slowly lift northward into the Midwest and Great Lakes. Out west, excessive heat warnings continue for portions of Nevada, interior California and northwest Arizona for high temperature above 110F and overnight lows in the 80F-85F range. However, a cooling trend will continue in the Pacific Northwest, northern California and northern Great Basin as onshore Pacific flow surges through the region. Over the remainder of the holiday weekend, high temperatures should be a good 10-15 degrees cooler than previous days. And by the end of the holiday weekend, the heat will shift eastward to the Four Corners region and into the central Rockies. Vojtesak Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php