Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 418 PM EDT Fri Sep 06 2013 Valid 00Z Sat Sep 07 2013 - 00Z Mon Sep 09 2013 ...Both flash flooding and severe weather will be possible across portions of Montana and the Dakotas... ...Shower and thunderstorm activity will be on the increase over the Southwest and Central Great Basin... ...Heat will continue across the Southern/Central Plains while much of the Eastern U.S. is in store for a pleasantly cool weekend... Unsettled weather will continue to accompany an upper low moving inland over the northwestern corner of the Nation this weekend. The primary focus for precipitation will shift out of the Pacific Northwest and into the northern Rockies and adjacent Plains as the low opens up and moves eastward. Even though the system should become a bit more progressive...sufficient instability will allow for some organized thunderstorm activity. Both flash flooding and severe weather will be a concern across portions of Montana and the Dakotas. Increasing amounts of monsoonal moisture getting pulled into the Southwest and up into the Central Great Basin will fuel widespread showers and thunderstorms the next few afternoons. Areas of heavy rains should be spotty across the region...but will have the potential to produce localized flash flooding. The heat will continue underneath an expansive upper ridge parked over the central U.S. this weekend. Daytime temperatures across portions of the Central and Southern Plains will climb near or over triple digits...while overnight lows will struggle to drop into the seventies. Strong surface ridging will keep conditions pleasantly dry across much of the eastern U.S. this weekend. Clear skies will allow for some brisk mornings...but temperatures should rebound quickly during the afternoon hours. An exception to the dry conditions will be across the Great Lakes and New England where a cold front bringing a reinforcing shot of cool air will also bring a chance of showers and thunderstorms. Along the southern tier of the Nation...afternoon convection will continue to fire up across Florida...while persistent easterly flow will allow for showers and thunderstorms over the western Gulf to move into South Texas. Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php