A storm system organizing over the Southern Plains early this morning will continue to deepen through the day as it moves northeastward toward the Corn Belt/Great Lakes.
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A warm front will lift northward as well, allowing warm and moist Gulf air to surge through the Lower Mississippi Valley.
This will set the stage for a heavy rain threat over much of the central Gulf Coast northward into the Mid-South.
Flash flooding will be possible, and a Moderate Risk area (at least a 40% chance of flash flooding within 25 miles) is depicted in some areas along the Mississippi River.
Though some thunderstorms may be severe, the main hazard may be the heavy rainfall.
The storm will slowly move through the mid-MS Valley and into the Ohio Valley on Thursday, spreading rainfall farther northeastward into the Southeast and the Tennessee Valley.
Due to expected local heavy rain, flash flooding will again be possible in some areas.
In the West, temperatures will again soar to near and over 100 degrees in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys which will challenge daily records.
Much above normal temperatures are likely for the Great Basin as well, where readings well into the 80s and low 90s will be common.
On Thursday, the core of the hot temperatures will shift northeastward into the the rest of the Interior West and northern Rockies, where temperatures are forecast to be 10-20 degrees above normal for late May.
Over portions of New Mexico and far southwest Texas, warm/hot and dry/windy conditions may lead to a fire weather risk again for today.
Over the Central Plains, on the northwest side of the storm system, north to northeasterly flow combined with showers and abundant cloudiness will keep temperatures quite chilly for late May.
In fact, high temperatures only in the 50s over much of the region are more typical of mid-March.
By Thursday, readings will rebound into the 60s and low 70s as rain exits the area. ■
A clipper system will move quickly across the northern Plains into the Midwest Friday and the Northeast by Saturday, bringing a wintry mix of rain and snow showers ahead of a sweeping cold front.