Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 355 PM EDT Thu Jul 14 2016 Valid 00Z Fri Jul 15 2016 - 00Z Sun Jul 17 2016 ...Strong to severe thunderstorms expected across the central Plains through Friday... ...More thunderstorms are expected to form in the northern Plains over the weekend... ...Heat and humidity will continue from the southern Plains eastward into the Southeast... A cold front stretching across the central Plains into the Great Lakes will be the focus of showers and thunderstorms. The strongest thunderstorms are expected to move across the central Plains towards the mid-Mississippi Valley through tonight. Outside of the central Plains, only scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected across the Appalachians, the mid-Atlantic, and up through New England on Friday. As the front moves slowly off the East Coast, cooler and drier air will move across the Midwest, Ohio Valley, and into the Northeast during the weekend. Meanwhile, a low pressure wave is forecast to form in the northern High Plains during the weekend. Instability associated with the low is expected to trigger showers and thunderstorms across the northern Plains Saturday night into early Sunday. Behind the low pressure wave, cooler air will spread across the northern Rockies into the northern Plains with below normal temperatures. Across the South, heat and humidity will continue from the southern Plains eastward into the Southeast, with readings topping the century mark in western Texas for the next few days. Higher moisture contents and instability to the south of a stationary front will lead to scattered showers and thunderstorms to persist across much of the Gulf states into the Southeast through the weekend. Much of the West will remain dry through the weekend. Onshore flow over the Pacific Northwest will bring only light shower activity. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php