Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 355 AM EDT Mon Sep 1 2014 Valid 12Z Mon Sep 1 2014 - 12Z Wed Sep 3 2014 ***Scattered severe storms from the central Plains to the Mid-Atlantic*** ***Hot and humid for the southern and eastern U.S.*** ***Drier and cooler for the western U.S. through midweek*** A couple of frontal boundaries are forecast to affect the northern tier of the U.S. through the middle of the work week. The system that is expected to bring the greatest impact will be the front currently moving through the Midwest and eventually to the East Coast by Tuesday night. Multiple thunderstorm complexes are expected to develop in the vicinity of this frontal boundary as it moves east, and some severe storms will be possible as it interacts with a hot and humid air mass with wind shear aloft. Strong upper level ridging over the southern and eastern part of the U.S. will help keep temperatures above normal as we head into the first few days of September. Widespread highs in the 90s are likely from Texas to the Mid-Atlantic, and triple digit temperatures are forecast for the lower elevations of the Desert Southwest. Heat indices could easily reach 100 degrees or higher during the afternoon hours. Out West, behind a slowly progressive cold front, cooler temperatures and high pressure will be enjoyed through the middle of the week. The vast majority of locations west of the continental divide should remain dry. A few isolated showers or storms cannot be ruled out, as pieces of weak shortwave energy in the flow aloft move through the Northern Rockies and the higher terrain of the Pacific Northwest. It appears that the moisture associated with the monsoon is now south of the border in Mexico. Hamrick Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php