Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 351 AM EDT Sun May 03 2015 Valid 12Z Sun May 03 2015 - 12Z Tue May 05 2015 ...Severe thunderstorms possible today for portions of the Upper Midwest... ...Above average temperatures will continue for most of the contiguous U.S... A cold front will move across the northern plains and Upper Midwest today. Showers and thunderstorms will be scattered in nature this morning across much of the Upper Midwest, central and northern plains, and central Rockies in association with this frontal boundary, but are forecast to become more widespread this afternoon and evening from the central plains to the Upper Midwest as ample moisture and instability flowing northward into the region on southerly winds intersects the frontal boundary. Showers and thunderstorms are also forecast to become more widespread this afternoon and evening across the eastern slops of the Rockies into the High Plains in Colorado. The Storm Prediction Center is forecasting a slight risk of severe thunderstorms through tonight across the Upper Midwest. Please refer to the Convective Outlooks issued by the SPC for further details on the severe weather threat. On Monday the surface front will move eastward across the lower Great Lakes toward the Northeast, spreading showers and thunderstorms across those areas. The frontal boundary is forecast to become stationary late Monday across the central plains in response to upper-level high pressure building into the Southeast and Gulf Coast states. Moist and unstable southerly flow will continue to stream northward and showers and thunderstorms will remain widespread in close proximity to this frontal boundary from the central plains into portions of the Midwest on Monday. Additional widespread showers and thunderstorms are forecast to develop farther south across the southern plains on Monday in association with a trough of low pressure at the surface, with heavy rainfall possible. A Pacific frontal system will reach the Northwest on Monday, with showers and a few thunderstorms possible across the coastal Pacific Northwest late on Monday into Monday night. Temperatures will be above average across the overwhelming majority of the contiguous U.S. over the next couple days. High temperatures today are forecast to be 10 to 20 degrees above average across areas from the central plains to the Upper Midwest, with temperatures reaching into the 80s in many areas. High temperatures are forecast be 10 to 15 degrees above average across portions of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast on Monday. Ryan Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php