Short Range Forecast Discussion NWS Weather Prediction Center College Park MD 425 AM EDT Wed Aug 04 2021 Valid 12Z Wed Aug 04 2021 - 12Z Fri Aug 06 2021 ..Early heavy rain near the North Carolina coast should edge slowly out to sea today... ...Heat returns to the Desert Southwest and Interior Pacific Northwest today while the central Plains to the East Coast see below normal temperatures... A mid- to upper-level ridge building from the Southwest into the Pacific Northwest will continue to spread drier conditions across the interior sections of the West Coast while shifting the most active monsoonal showers further eastward from the central and southern Rockies into the High Plains today. Locally heavy rain is possible early today over the southern Rockies/High Plains before diminishing later today. Meanwhile, the drying trend brought by the building ridge will lead to above average temperatures across the Desert Southwest northward to the interior Pacific Northwest. High temperatures in the 110s will be common in the Desert Southwest for the next couple of days while upper 90s to 100 degrees are forecast for the interior Pacific Northwest this afternoon. As a result, Excessive Heat Warnings are in effect for the Desert Southwest through Thursday evening while Heat Advisories are in effect for today across interior Pacific Northwest. In addition, fire weather danger is forecast to increase over the Great Basin into Thursday. A system moving east from the Pacific will begin to bring cooler air into the Pacific Northwest on Thursday together with a round of rain/thunderstorms eastward into the northern Rockies. The rain/storms are expected to continue across the northern Rockies into early Friday as the heat spreads further east into the northern Plains and upper Midwest where high temperatures are forecast to reach into the 80s and 90s the next couple of days. Meanwhile, a frontal boundary is forecast to remain nearly stationary near/along the Gulf Coast as well as along/just off the East Coast for the next few days. An axis of heavy rain is forecast to extend along or just east of the boundary near the East Coast. The heaviest rainfall should stay just off the coast as the heavy rain early this morning near the North Carolina coast is forecast to edge slowly out to sea later today. However, a slight westward shift of the front would bring the heavy rain back along/near the coast at any time. Some heavy rainfall is also possible across northern Florida just south of the front. Meanwhile, the heaviest rains should stay off the Gulf Coast but some enhanced rainfall is expected farther westward across southern Texas for the next couple of days. Elsewhere, below normal temperatures are expected from the central Plains to the East Coast, with highs mainly in the 80s. The dry airmass will also allow temperatures to cool off at night, with lows dipping down into the 60s from north Texas and Oklahoma east to the Mid-Atlantic and coastal Northeast and lows in the 50s for the interior Northeast. Portions of the Carolinas under the influence of clouds and precipitation as well as New England will see highs only in the 70s. Kong Graphics available at www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/basicwx_ndfd.php