Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 400 AM EDT Fri Aug 30 2019 Valid 12Z Fri Aug 30 2019 - 12Z Sun Sep 01 2019 ...Hurricane Dorian forecast to intensify further as it tracks westward toward Florida during the Labor Day weekend... ...Heavy rain could result in excessive rainfall from the central Plains eastward into the Mid-Mississippi Valley... ...Excessive heat continues across the Southwest for the next couple of days... Hurricane Dorian will remain the main weather story across the U.S. as we head into the Labor Day weekend. Dorian has already intensified into a category-2 hurricane as it tracks more toward the west-northwest this Friday morning. As a Bermuda high is forecast build to the north of Dorian during the next few days, the hurricane is expected to turn more toward the west and continue to intensify further into a major hurricane. By Sunday morning, the hurricane could be moving very close to the northern Bahamas. Please refer to National Hurricane Center for the latest on Dorian. A stationary front draped from the Mid-Mississippi Valley through the central Plains will remain a focus for heavy rainfall through Saturday as a series of thunderstorm complexes are forecast to move through. Some of these thunderstorms are expected to be severe through today. The heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected to become less intense and more widely scattered by the weekend. Multi-day rainfall totals of 1 to 3+ inches are possible across eastern portions of Kansas, Oklahoma and into central Missouri where flash flooding is possible. Elsewhere, a trough of low pressure across Florida in advance of Dorian will bring daily chances for showers and thunderstorms into the weekend with locally heavy rainfall possible, especially for southern Florida. Upper level ridging should remain anchored over the southern Plains to much of the West through the short range period. Much above normal temperatures are expected across this region, and excessive heat warnings are in effect for lower elevations of the Southwest as daytime highs there could reach 115 degrees today and Saturday. The heat will begin to abate by Sunday. In addition, dry heat combined with gusty winds will increase the fire weather threat, with red flag warnings posted for parts of Oregon as well as the central Great Basin. Meanwhile, much below normal temperatures will spread from the northern Plains to the central Plains and the Midwest into the weekend on the backside of a cold front. Kong/Santorelli Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php