Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 334 PM EDT Thu Jul 05 2018 Valid 00Z Fri Jul 06 2018 - 00Z Sun Jul 08 2018 ...Flash flooding possible for portions of the central Appalachians and Mid-Atlantic... ...Cooler temperatures on the way for much of the eastern U.S... A cold front is will be accompanied by scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms as it passes through areas from the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley to the Eastern Seaboard tonight and Friday. Locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding are possible for portions of the central Appalachians and Mid-Atlantic regions. Additional showers and thunderstorms are expected along the western portion of the frontal boundary, from the central High Plains to the Front Range of the Rockies, with the potential for areas of heavy rain. In the wake of the cold front, a cooler and drier air mass will accompany an area of high pressure moving into areas from the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. As the motion of the cold front slows across the southern/southeastern states Friday night into Saturday, showers and thunderstorms are expected to persist for those areas. Farther west, above average temperatures are expected across much of the western U.S. through the weekend on the western extent of a mid/upper-level ridge of high pressure. The largest temperature anomalies are expected from the northern Rockies to the northern plains, where high temperatures Fri and Sat could reach 15 degrees above average. A cold front will attempt to make inroads into the ridge on Saturday, with the potential for a few isolated or scattered thunderstorms. Across the Southwest, scattered afternoon/evening thunderstorms are expected daily as some monsoonal moisture begins to spread into the region. Ryan Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php