Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 359 PM EDT Wed Jul 20 2016 Valid 00Z Thu Jul 21 2016 - 00Z Sat Jul 23 2016 ...Heavy rain to impact the northern Plains and Mississippi Valley... ...Heat wave expected to bring temperatures well above normal across the central and eastern U.S... Upper level disturbances moving north and east of the upper level ridge will develop showers and thunderstorms beginning in the northern Plains and will move into the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes region. The cluster of thunderstorms will fire off sometime Wednesday evening in north central North Dakota, and will continue moving eastward along with the surface low to the south of the cluster. This area of storms will move into the Upper Midwest/Great Lakes by Thursday morning and will become more widespread as the day goes on. By Friday morning, precipitation will sprad across the lower Great Lakes and Ohio Valley as the surface front stretches across the region as it progresses eastward. As the front moves across the Northeast and New England by Friday night, showers and thunderstorms will advance into these regions. The upper level ridge will continue to sit over the central U.S. over the next few days--which will yield temperatures well above average especially for the north and central Plains in addition to the Mississippi Valley. High temperatures can expect to be 10-15 degrees above normal especially across the central Plains. The upper level ridge will also pull monsoonal moisture from the Pacific and cause scattered convection across the Four Corners over the next few days. Typical summertime sea breeze thunderstorms across Florida and the Gulf Coast also. Fanning Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_wbg.php