Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 455 PM EDT Fri May 30 2014 Valid 00Z Sat May 31 2014 - 00Z Mon Jun 2 2014 ***Showers and thunderstorms over the Southern U.S.*** ***Showers and thunderstorm for the Rockies*** ***Wonderful weekend from the East Coast and Ohio Valley*** Additional afternoons of widespread convection are expected across the southeastern quarter of the Nation as an upper low parked over the Lower Mississippi Valley gradually weakens Friday and Saturday. The majority of activity should be isolated to scattered in nature; However, a plume of moisture funneling inland over the central Gulf Coast should lead to organized areas of heavy rains and pose a risk for flash flooding. A frontal boundary sinking through the Carolinas could also be a focus for more organized activity and heavier rainfall totals. Rain and thunderstorms will continue to develop along a frontal boundary gradually edging east through the Dakotas on Friday and pushing into Minnesota on Saturday. The slow progression of the front, combined with ample amounts of moisture fueling heavy rains, will heighten the risk for flash flooding across portions of the north central U.S. late this week. Upstream, very little precipitation is expected with an upper trough swinging into the Northwest on Friday, but as the energy travels east of the Rockies and taps into a relatively moist airmass, showers and thunderstorms will become increasingly numerous across the northern Plains on Saturday. A broad upper trough will encourage scattered shower activity across New England on Friday. By Saturday, the trough should move offshore and surface ridging building in behind it should keep much of the Northeast and northern Mid-Atlantic states pleasantly dry for the first half of the weekend. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php