Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 340 PM EDT Tue Jul 15 2014 Valid 00Z Wed Jul 16 2014 - 00Z Fri Jul 18 2014 ...Cold front and heavy rainfall pushing off the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast coast by Wednesday morning... ...Much colder than normal temperatures persist for much of the eastern two thirds of the nation... ...Heavy rainfall expected to develop for portions of the central High Plains and into the southern Plains... A slow moving cold front currently pushing through the eastern U.S. this afternoon will continue to move eastward and off the Mid-Atlantic/Northeast coastline by Wednesday morning. Ahead of the boundary, where copious amounts of moisture and instability will be present, heavy rainfall and strong to severe thunderstorms will be possible. The very slow motion of the front may also lead to the potential for flash flooding up the east coast from North Carolina to Maine. Behind the front, high pressure takes over and unseasonably cool weather moves in. Temperatures east of the Rockies are expected to remain well below normal for this time of the year, making it feel more like fall instead of summer. Especially across the central Plains and the Mid-west, temperatures could be as much as 10 to 20 degrees below normal! A disturbance in the upper levels of the atmosphere will drop southeastward through the forecast period along the front range of the Rockies. This energy, combining with the dynamics of a boundary farther south, will ignite organized rainfall and thunderstorms initially across the the northern and central High Plains and spreading into the southern Plains by Wednesday. On Wednesday, and into Thursday, rain could be heavy at times which poses a threat for flash flooding, especially across Oklahoma and Northern Texas. Associated with the heavy rain, could also be strong to severe thunderstorms, as forecast by the Storm Prediction Center. Monarski Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php