Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 406 AM EDT Thu Jul 16 2020 Valid 12Z Thu Jul 16 2020 - 12Z Sat Jul 18 2020 ...Strong to severe thunderstorms and heavy rainfall across the central High Plains and Midwest today, shifting into the northern Plains on Friday... ...The heat will gradually moderate across the South but will be on the increase for the eastern U.S. and for the northern and central High Plains.. A wavy front draping across the central portion of the country will be the main focus for strong to severe thunderstorms and areas of heavy rainfall expected to impact the Midwest and the central High Plains through this morning. By this afternoon into Friday morning, the thunderstorms will push further eastward into Ohio and the lower Great Lakes near and ahead of a wave of low pressure. This wave is forecast to move into Canada as scattered thunderstorms ahead of the associated fronts move across the Northeast Friday night into early on Saturday. Meanwhile, heat and humidity will be on the increase farther down the East Coast with scattered thunderstorms into the weekend. A good chance of thunderstorms over southern Florida will edge further northward during the next couple of days. New England will remain cool through Saturday morning ahead of a warm front. As the next upper trough from the Pacific Northwest approaches, the northern Plains will be under an increasing threat of severe thunderstorms on Friday ahead of a warm front and a developing low pressure system. Meanwhile, relatively cool air across the northern Plains and the upper Midwest this morning will give way to intensifying heat especially farther west across the northern and central High Plains, where high temperatures are forecast to top the century mark beginning on Friday behind a warm front. The excessive heat across the South has moderated to more tolerable levels but heat advisories are still in effect today across the interior sections of the lower Mississippi Valley. Finally, some monsoonal showers and thunderstorms are expected to linger over the central and southern Rockies into the weekend. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php