Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 449 AM EDT Tue Jul 01 2014 Valid 12Z Tue Jul 01 2014 - 12Z Thu Jul 03 2014 ...Heavy rain and strong to severe thunderstorms possible with a cold front slowly pressing southeastward through the Ohio Valley...Middle Mississippi Valley...and Southern Plains... ...Tropical system spinning in the western Atlantic could bring moderate to locally heavy rains into Florida's east coast... A frontal boundary slowly pressing south and east through the Ohio Valley...Middle Mississippi Valley...and Southern Plains will continue to serve as a focal point for convection Tuesday and Wednesday. A ripe and unstable airmass in place ahead of the front could allow for developing storms to become organized and potentially produce heavy downpours and severe weather. The tail end of the boundary is expected to stall out while dropping through Texas and New Mexico. The lingering boundary...combined with increasing moisture...should foster widespread shower and thunderstorm activity across the Southern Plains and Rockies the next couple of days. Farther north...high pressure spreading in behind the slow moving frontal boundary will bring a refreshing batch of lower temperatures and dewpoints to much of the Midwest. A tropical system spinning in the western Atlantic should begin to gradually move northward up the Florida coastline Tuesday and Wednesday. Although the system should track far enough east to keep the heaviest rains offshore...some moderate to locally heavy rains and thunderstorms could still move inland over Florida's east coast. Please refer to the National Hurricane Center for the latest information. An upper ridge will keep conditions warm and dry across the Western U.S. on Tuesday; However...the northwestern corner of the Country should begin to see a drop in temperatures and slight chance of showers by the middle of the week as the ridge slides east over the Intermountain West. Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php