A combination of frontal systems and ongoing monsoonal flow in the Southwest will be the focuses for active weather across portions of the Lower 48 through the remainder of the work-week.
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Starting in the Southwest, monsoonal flow and anomalous moisture content will remain in place over the Southwest, leading to daily rounds of afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms.
Some storms could contain Excessive Rainfall rates and may cause localized flash flooding.
As a result, Marginals Risks remain in place for portions of the Four Corners region through Friday.
In the Southeast, an approaching cold front will set off showers and thunderstorms in parts of the Carolinas later today while hit-or-miss showers and t-storms dot central and northern Florida today.
The greatest areal coverage for showers and t-storms in the Southeast comes on Friday when the cold front reaches southern Georgia.
Both the Storm Prediction Center and Weather Prediction Center have Marginal Risks for severe weather and Excessive Rainfall from southern Georgia to central Florida on Friday.
Farther north, a nearly stagnant frontal boundary is forecast to keep areas of showers and a few thunderstorms oriented north-to-south from the Mid-Atlantic to as far north as northern New England.
This front is expected to dissipate sometime Friday, giving way to a drier end to the week for residents in the Northeast.
The most active storm track is set to occur from the northern Rockies to the Upper Midwest late Thursday and into Friday.
An occluded low and its associated cold front traversing the Intermountain West will spark showers and t-storms from the Great Basin to the northern Rockies and High Plains.
Some storms could be severe in some cases, including in parts of the Upper Midwest downwind of a developing warm front over the northern and central Plains.
The SPC has issued a Slight Risk for southern Nebraska and northern Kansas while a pair of Marginal Risks for Excessive Rainfall incorporate some of the central Plains and Upper Mississippi Valley.
By Friday, the low pressure system over far southern Canada is forecast to strengthen ahead of an upper level disturbance ejecting out of the northern Rockies.
This makes Friday the busier day in terms of potential hazardous severe weather and increased potential for flash flooding.
Slight Risks, for both severe weather and Excessive Rainfall, have been posted for the Red River Valley of the North and portions of eastern South Dakota and northwest Minnesota.
Strong-to-severe storms could contain damaging wind gusts, large hail, and tornadoes, as well heavy downpours that may cause areas of flash flooding Temperature-wise, sizzling heat will be a mainstay along the Gulf Coast where daytime highs make a run at the century mark and heat indices will top out around 110 degrees in spots.
Some daily records, both high minimums and maximums, are likely to be broken.
To account for these brutally hot conditions, Heat Advisories have been issued from eastern Texas to the Southeast coast.
Abnormally hot temperatures are also on the docket in the North-Central U.S.
where highs in the low-mid 90s across the Dakotas and Upper Mississippi Valley look to range between 10 and 20 degrees above normal through Friday.
High temps will also rebound into the triple digits by Friday in the central and southern High Plains.
Much of California's Great Valley and coastal range can anticipate hotter than normal conditions to close out the work-week, while an unusually cool Thursday in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic gives way to more typical late June temperatures on Friday. ■