Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 456 AM EDT Wed Jul 02 2014 Valid 12Z Wed Jul 02 2014 - 12Z Fri Jul 04 2014 ...The combination of Tropical Storm Arthur and an approaching cold front will keep things wet and stormy in the Eastern U.S.... ...Showers and thunderstorms expected along a frontal boundary lingering over the Southern Plains... Tropical Storm Arthur will continue to take a slow and steady northward track up the Eastern Seaboard Wednesday and Thursday. The system should stay far enough offshore to keep any heavy rains confined to coastal areas from Florida to the Carolinas; however...locations farther inland across the Southeast could still see some rain and thunderstorms from Arthur. For the latest information on the storm...please refer to the National Hurricane Center. Showers and thunderstorms will continue to ignite along a frontal boundary gradually pressing eastward out of the Ohio Valley and into the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states. A warm and unstable airmass in place ahead of the front could allow storms to become organized and potentially capable of producing severe weather. Also...as the boundary edges far enough eastward and begins interacting with moisture from Tropical Storm Arthur...heavy rains with localized flash flooding will become a possibility. Behind the front...conditions should be unseasonably cool and dry within a large dome of high pressure setting up over the Midwest and Ohio Valley. The tail end of the boundary pressing through the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states is expected to stall out over the Southern Plains. The lingering front will serve as a focal point for convection Wednesday and Thursday...bringing some much needed precipitation to eastern New Mexico and North Texas. A Pacific cold front slowly moving inland will lower temperatures and bring a slight chance of showers to the northwestern U.S. on Wednesday. Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php