Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 402 PM EDT Thu Aug 06 2020 Valid 00Z Fri Aug 07 2020 - 00Z Sun Aug 09 2020 ...Unsettled weather along much of the East Coast into Saturday with locally heavy rain and flash flooding possible... ...Scattered thunderstorms in the central to northern Plains could become severe Friday and Saturday... ...A wildfire risk remains elevated across portions of the western U.S... A quasi-stationary front is forecast to linger across the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast over the next couple of days, which will keep an increased risk for thunderstorms which will obtain peak coverage during the afternoon and evening hours. Some of the thunderstorms will be slow moving, capable of producing very heavy rainfall over a short period of time, resulting in a flash flood threat. The flash flood threat will be increased from portions of the Carolinas into the northern Mid-Atlantic states where the soil moisture is elevated due to recent heavy rainfall from Tropical Storm Isaias. An upper level disturbance will track eastward through southern Canada Friday into Friday night, with a cold front following at the surface. Ahead of the front, temperatures and dewpoints will rise into the north-central U.S. helping to support thunderstorms, some of which could be strong to severe. The Storm Prediction Center has a Slight Risk for severe thunderstorms on Friday/Friday night across North Dakota into northwestern Minnesota with immediately surrounding locations also seeing increased risks for severe thunderstorms. Flash flooding could also occur with these storms. The severe threat shifts southward for Saturday as the cold front slowly advances south and east. Across the western U.S., gusty winds and dry relative humidities will continue conditions that are favorable for fire weather for portions of the Intermountain West and Desert Southwest today. Fire weather risks will remain on Friday for portions of Montana in the wake of the cold front discussed above as well as into portions of Utah and Colorado. Meanwhile across the Southwest, the monsoon season will remain rather inactive through at least this upcoming weekend with the best moisture staying south of the U.S. border. Otto Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php