A slow-moving upper trough will lead to an active pattern taking shape across the eastern half of the country this weekend, with multiple rounds of heavy rainfall expected through Sunday morning.
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As a developing storm system slowly tracks northeastward through the Mid-Atlantic on Friday, moderate to heavy rain will overtake much of the region as warm, moist air surges northward behind a lifting warm front, with rainfall totals of 1-2" stretching from northern Virginia through New Jersey.
Localized areas may receive 3"+, resulting in a Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall contour hoisted for areas in and around Washington D.C., and Baltimore.
Conditions will improve from south to north throughout the daytime Friday hours, with the bulk of the precipitation becoming lighter by Saturday morning across portions of the Northeast and southern New England.
Further west, a cold front progressing eastward across the Plains will lead to heightened chances of showers and thunderstorms, especially on the southern flank of the boundary, as a multitude of features, including a developing dryline, a warm front, and a surface low, aid in the development of supercells.
As a result, the Storm Prediction Center has issued an Enhanced Risk of Severe Thunderstorms for much of eastern Texas, with large population centers including the Dallas-Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin metro areas under the risk of damaging winds, large hail, and tornadoes on Friday.
A forming surface low will push offshore into the Gulf of Mexico early Saturday, with rainfall chances increasing across portions of the immediate Gulf Coast as warm, moist air streams northward behind a warm front.
Multiple rounds of potentially heavy rainfall are expected from early Saturday into the evening hours, leading to a Slight Risk of Excessive Rainfall being issued for the Florida Panhandle, southeastern Alabama, and southern Georgia, as a broad area of 1-2 inch rainfall totals, and hourly rainfall rates approaching 2"/hr are possible.
Severe thunderstorms are possible along the Florida Panhandle, with damaging winds and a few tornadoes being the primary threats.
Elsewhere, conditions will be pleasant and tranquil this weekend across the West Coast, as persistent upper-level ridging keeps temperatures 15-25 degrees above normal for areas west of the Continental Divide.
Widespread high temperatures in the 80s are expected throughout interior sections of the Pacific Northwest, while locations further south, including California's Central Valley and the Mojave/Sonoran deserts, reach the 90s and even 100s in localized areas. ■