Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 356 PM EDT Mon May 02 2016 Valid 00Z Tue May 03 2016 - 00Z Thu May 05 2016 ...There is a slight risk of severe thunderstorms over parts of the Southern Mid-Atlantic... ...Heavy rain possible from the central Gulf Coast through parts of the Tennessee Valley and into the Central Appalachians... Scattered to widespread showers and thunderstorms are developing along a quasi-stationary front extending from the Mid-Atlantic/Central Appalachians southwestward to the Lower Mississippi Valley. The front will slowly sag into the Southern Mid-Atlantic and Southeast by midweek. Convection will persist across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic region through Wednesday, bringing up to 1.5 inches for much of the East Coast. The highest amounts will likely occur from the coastal North Carolina to the Chesapeake Bay and adjacent areas - with forecast totals near 3 inches. Rain will also develop over parts of the Great Lakes to the Northeast by Tuesday afternoon as a cold front pushes southward through southern Canada. Accumulations will generally be less than 0.50 inch for this region. Upper-level energy near Southern California is slowly tracking eastward and is expected to reach the Southern Plains by Tuesday. This energy is causing showers and a few embedded thunderstorms to fire up across the Southwest and Great Basing today and is forecast to diminish by Tuesday morning. Rain will develop over parts of the Pacific Northwest and Northern California on Tuesday as a cold front advances through the western states and into the Intermountain West and Great Basin regions by Tuesday evening. Light snow is forecast for the Sierras, otherwise the precipitation is expected to fall in the form of rain. Campbell Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php