Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 358 AM EDT Wed Sep 12 2018 Valid 12Z Wed Sep 12 2018 - 12Z Fri Sep 14 2018 ...Major Hurricane Florence continues to bear down on the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic... ...Extremely heavy rain expected over parts of the Carolina Coast... ...Heavy rain possible over parts of the Central/Western Gulf Coast... Major Hurricane Florence is forecast to slowly move northwesterly towards the Southeast/Southern Mid-Atlantic Coast by Thursday evening into Friday morning, making landfall in North Carolina. Excessive rainfall and storm surge will proceed the landfall of the hurricane, with hurricane watches in effect across much of the South Carolina and North Carolina coastlines. Showers and thunderstorms associated with Florence will start on Thursday morning over parts of the Carolinas that will steadily move farther inland Thursday evening into Friday. Please see the latest National Hurricane Center advisories for updates to the forecast track and details of any watches and warnings associated with Florence. Meanwhile, a quasi-stationary front extending from the Mid-Atlantic southwestward to the Western Gulf Coast will slowly dissipate from the Western Gulf Coast to the Central Appalachians by Thursday morning. Showers and thunderstorms will develop along and near the boundary from Southern New England to the Southern Mid-Atlantic Coast that will expand southward along the front with daytime heating into parts of the Southeast. Overnight Wednesday, the showers and thunderstorms will wane over the Southern Mid-Atlantic into the Southeast. Showers and thunderstorms will continue over parts of the Lower Great Lakes/Northern Mid-Atlantic through Thursday evening into Friday. In addition, along the southern end of the boundary showers and thunderstorms will develop over parts of the Western/Central Gulf Coast into parts of the Tennessee Valley through Friday morning. Additionally, a front extending from the Upper Mississippi Valley roughly southwestward into parts of the Great Basin will remain quasi-stationary through Thursday evening. Showers and thunderstorms will develop along and near the boundary from parts of the Upper Mississippi Valley into parts of the Northern Plains through Thursday evening. A secondary front moving south out of Western Canada will reinforce the aforementioned front by Thursday night into Friday. The system will aid in producing showers and thunderstorms over parts of the Northern Rockies/Northern Intermountain Region overnight Wednesday into Thursday evening. Furthermore, onshore flow over the Pacific Northwest will aid in producing rain with embedded daytime thunderstorms over parts of the Pacific Northwest through Thursday evening. Ziegenfelder Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php