Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 338 AM EDT Fri Apr 30 2021 Valid 12Z Fri Apr 30 2021 - 12Z Sun May 02 2021 ...Heavy rain and flash flooding likely across portions of southern Texas through Saturday... ...Gusty and potentially damaging winds found along the southern/central Appalachians, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast today... ...Record-breaking heat forecast throughout Southern California, the Intermountain West, and into the Northern High Plains to end the workweek... The sole weather hazard associated with precipitation over the next few days will be found throughout southern Texas. A stalled frontal boundary draped across the region and a closed upper-level low located over northern Mexico will help funnel moisture from the western Gulf of Mexico into the Lone Star State. Showers and thunderstorms are already impacting parts of southern Texas, with more on the way for the first half of the weekend. The heaviest rainfall amounts today are forecast to occur along and just inland from the southern/middle Texas Coast. When all is said and done, upwards of 7 additional inches of rain could fall. This amount of rain will likely lead to flash flooding where the most intense downpours occur. Therefore, WPC has issued a Moderate Risk of Excessive Rainfall across the aforementioned region, including Corpus Christi, Texas. Rainfall on Saturday will gradually spread further north across central Texas as the frontal boundary slowly lifts in that direction. A few thunderstorms may produce damaging winds and isolated tornadoes today and Saturday across southern Texas as well. Meanwhile, a rapidly deepening low pressure system is exiting off the the New England coastline this morning and will produce high winds from the southern Appalachians to the Northeast. Winds could gust as high as 60 mph between northern Virginia and New Jersey. This will likely lead to downed trees and power lines this afternoon and evening. High Wind Warnings and Wind Advisories have been issued to highlight the hazard. Along with the howling northwesterly winds, below average temperatures will bring the chance for late-April snow showers throughout the Northeast and New England. Elsewhere across the Lower 48, well above normal temperatures will stretch from California to the northern/central Plains today, extending into the Upper Great Lakes on Saturday. High temperatures are forecast to break several daily record highs to end the week from Southern California to Montana, with 80s found as far north as the U.S.-Canada border. Fire weather is a concern across the northern Plains as low relative humidity and gusty winds could produce conditions ripe for fires to spread uncontrollably. Red Flag Warnings have been issued across eastern Montana, western North Dakota, and northwestern South Dakota. Snell Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php