Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 451 AM EDT Thu Jul 03 2014 Valid 12Z Thu Jul 03 2014 - 12Z Sat Jul 05 2014 ...Arthur is expected to intensify while tracking up the Eastern Seaboard late this week... ...Severe weather and flash flooding will threaten the Northeast and northern Mid-Atlantic states as moisture from Arthur interacts with a slow moving cold front... Arthur will continue to make weather headlines as it strengthens and steadily tracks up the Eastern Seaboard late this week. Periods of heavy rains...strong winds...and high seas are expected along the coastal areas of the Carolinas on Thursday before the storm pulls a little farther out to sea on Friday. Please refer to the National Hurricane Center for the latest forecast information on Arthur. Strong to severe storms will continue to ignite within a very warm and muggy airmass in place across the Northeast and northern Mid-Atlantic states...ahead of a cold front slowly pressing into the region. As the front edges east of the Appalachians and interacts with moisture from Arthur...heavy rains and flash flooding will become a concern within developing convection. Behind the front...an anomalously strong surface high sliding in will keep conditions unseasonably cool and dry across the Midwest and Ohio Valley. Elsewhere across the Nation...a lingering frontal boundary will serve as a focus for convection over the Southern Plains. Monsoonal moisture making a return will fuel widespread afternoon shower and thunderstorm activity across the Four Corners region. Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php