Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 349 AM EDT Tue Sep 2 2014 Valid 12Z Tue Sep 2 2014 - 12Z Thu Sep 4 2014 ***Scattered showers and 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 Great Lakes and Ohio Valley, and eventually to the East Coast by Wednesday morning. Multiple thunderstorm complexes are expected to develop in the vicinity of this frontal boundary as it moves east, and a few severe storms will be possible as it interacts with a hot and humid air mass with wind shear aloft. Another cold front towards the end of the work week could set off more storms for the Plains. Strong upper level ridging over the southern and eastern part of the U.S. will help keep temperatures feeling more like July for the first few days of September. Widespread highs in the 90s are likely from Texas to the Mid-Atlantic on Tuesday and Wednesday, 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 over the southern U.S. Out West, 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