Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 359 PM EDT Mon Jul 30 2018 Valid 00Z Tue Jul 31 2018 - 00Z Thu Aug 02 2018 ...Unsettled weather grips the eastern U.S. with rain and thunderstorms expected... ...Heat continues in the Intermountain West while below average temperatures are forecast for the Plains to Ohio Valley... An upper-level trough centered over the Midwest and Ohio Valley, ample moisture ahead of the trough, and a slow-moving front stretching through the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys back into the Lower Mississippi Valley and Southern Plains will combine to produce increasing rain chances across much of the East through Wednesday. Through Monday night, storms are forecast for Texas and the Lower Mississippi Valley, and a slight risk of flash flooding is in effect there. Widespread rain and storms are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday across the Southeast northward into the Ohio Valley and eastward into the Mid-Atlantic. The greatest chance of flash flooding is in the Southeast into the Carolinas, as well as over areas in the northern Mid-Atlantic that received a lot of rainfall recently. A few strong storms are possible as well, particularly for the Tennessee Valley to the Central Appalachians on Tuesday. Monsoonal moisture will continue to stream into the Southwest and into the Central Great Basin over the next couple of days, so scattered thunderstorms are expected in those areas. Marginal risks of flash flooding are in place there through Wednesday. Elsewhere, by Tuesday evening into Wednesday, another cold front drops southward through the Northern Plains and Midwest, leading to scattered thunderstorms there, as well as a drop in temperatures. The Intermountain West is forecast to have above average temperatures again on Tuesday as an upper-level ridge remains centered there. Excessive Heat Warnings and Heat Advisories are in effect for the Northern Great Plains through Tuesday. On the other hand, temperatures behind the front will be cooler than average across the Plains to Ohio Valley, particularly on Tuesday. Rain in the East will also hold temperatures down below normal there. Tate Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php