Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 359 AM EDT Mon Sep 28 2020 Valid 12Z Mon Sep 28 2020 - 12Z Wed Sep 30 2020 ...Elevated to critical fire weather conditions continue along the West Coast... ...Heavy showers and to march across the eastern U.S. during the first half of the week... ...A strong cold front to bring much below normal temperatures across much of the central U.S.... Wildfires raging in parts of California unfortunately reside under favorable fire weather conditions with high pressure anchored across the western U.S. helping to generate strong offshore winds. Critical fire weather conditions and Red Flag Warnings are in place across much of Northern California and the coastal ranges of Southern California. Fire weather conditions should improve across Northern California by Tuesday, but elevated fire weather conditions are likely to stick around in Southern California into mid-week. While winds are likely to lessen in the coming days, high temperatures soar to much above normal levels with record heat possible along portions of the West Coast on Tuesday. To the east, showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue developing along and behind a cold front as tracks through the eastern third of the U.S. the first half of the week. Heavy thunderstorms may produce excessive rainfall in parts of the southern Appalachians and along the Southeast coast today. The front is forecast to hit the breaks as it reaches the East Coast on Tuesday, which along with increasingly rich moisture ahead of it, raises the threat for heavy rainfall accumulations spreading north from the Southeast into the Northeast by late Tuesday. A Slight Risk for flash flooding has been issued from the Carolinas to the northern Mid-Atlantic in Tuesday. The cold front progresses so slowly that a marginal risk is also in place from the Carolinas to New England on Wednesday, thus keeping heavy rain and thunderstorms in the forecast through mid-week. Temperature-wise, above normal temperatures stick around through Monday from the eastern Ohio valley and northern Mid-Atlantic, while persisting through Tuesday across the Northeast. Following a weekend of well above normal temperatures, Monday is forecast to be dramatically cooler across the Nation's Heartland and the Rockies. This large dome of below normal temperatures advances east on Tuesday into the Southeast and the Ohio/Tennessee Valleys where highs will struggle to get out of the 60s. By Wednesday, the much below normal air-mass makes its way into the Mid-Atlantic while another cold front ushers in a reinforcing shot of below normal temperatures across the North-Central U.S. on Wednesday. Mullinax Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php