Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 454 AM EDT Thu Aug 29 2013 Valid 12Z Thu Aug 29 2013 - 12Z Sat Aug 31 2013 ...Another day of heat and humidity expected across portions of the Midwest... ...Severe storms possible from North Dakota to Wisconsin on Thursday... Another day of record breaking heat is expected across portions of the Midwest on Thursday...underneath an expansive upper ridge parked over the Central U.S.. Energy rounding the northern fringe of the upper ridge will fire up showers and thunderstorms while it tracks from the Dakotas to the Upper Great Lakes. Some developing storms may become severe...but the impulse of energy aloft should also help suppress the ridge and gradually reduce the recent heat and humidity. A cold front will trigger scattered convection while it pushes through the Carolinas on Thursday and into the Southeast on Friday. Enough moisture in place across the region will allow for some locally moderate to heavy rains. A surface high building in behind the front should bring some drier conditions into the northern Mid-Atlantic states. A Pacific front approaching the western U.S. will bring scattered showers and thunderstorms to the northwestern corner of the country on Thursday...with the heaviest precipitation expected along the Washington and northern Oregon coasts. The front is expected to weaken while moving inland on Friday and conditions should dry out over the Northwest in time for the weekend. More days of widespread showers and thunderstorms are expected across the Southwest and into the Central Great Basin and Southern/Central Rockies...where plenty of moisture will be streaming into the region. Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php