Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 456 PM EDT Fri Aug 01 2014 Valid 00Z Sat Aug 02 2014 - 00Z Mon Aug 04 2014 ...Rain expected to move up the immediate East Coast during the weekend while fine weather continues across the mid-section of the country... ...Showers and thunderstorms expected near a stalled front along the Gulf Coast westward into the southern Rockies and parts of the Desert Southwest... A large-scale upper-level trough over the eastern U.S. has weakened but its axis has continued to anchor over the same general area. Southwesterly flow ahead of the trough axis has begun to transport moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and western Atlantic. As the moisture surges northward, weak low pressure centers are forecast to form and move up a stalled front lying near or just off the East Coast. It appears that most of the heavier rains should skirt along the coastal sections while more scattered activities are forecast for the interior through the weekend. Meanwhile, scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue farther south in Florida, the Gulf Coast, as well as the southern Rockies into parts of the Desert Southwest in the vicinity of the stalled front. More concentrated activities can be expected near a low pressure center in the lower Mississippi Valley as well as in the southern Rockies. North of the stalled front, the mid-section of the country should enjoy fine weather with slightly cooler than normal temperatures during the weekend. A cold front moving in from Canada should trigger scattered showers and thunderstorms in the northern Plains and into the Upper Midwest. Out west, isolated to scattered showers and thunderstorms can be expected across much of the interior mountains with most activities in the late afternoon and early evening hours. The northern Rockies, the Pacific Northwest, and the immediate West Coast should remain dry through the weekend. Temperatures as much as 10 degrees above normal are expected to move into northern Montana by Sunday with isolated showers and thunderstorms. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php