Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 346 PM EDT Fri Sep 08 2017 Valid 00Z Sat Sep 09 2017 - 00Z Mon Sep 11 2017 ...Hurricane Irma is still on track to bring destructive winds, dangerous storm surge, and heavy rain to Florida this weekend... ...Widespread showers and thunderstorms, with a threat for localized flash flooding, expected for the Southwestern U.S. over the next few days... Rain and thunderstorms will continue to focus along a frontal boundary stalled across the Florida Peninsula Friday evening, with conditions expected to deteriorate even further as Hurricane Irma approaches the Sunshine State this weekend. This powerful storm is still on track to bring destructive winds, dangerous storm surge, and heavy rain to much of Florida, but please refer to the National Hurricane Hurricane Center (www.nhc.noaa.gov) for the latest information on Irma. North of Irma, a sprawling surface high centering over the Great Lakes region should keep conditions pleasantly cool and dry for locations from the Mississippi Valley to the Mid-Atlantic states this weekend, while scattered showers will be possible with a sharpening upper trough passing through the Northeast Saturday and Sunday. Out west, widespread showers and thunderstorms are expected for the Southwestern U.S. this weekend as an upper trough edges inland into the Western U.S. and then pinches off a closed low over California. Given the anomalous moisture in place across the region, localized heavy rain and flash flooding will be possible. Gerhardt Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php