194  
FXUS01 KWBC 021950  
PMDSPD  
 
SHORT RANGE FORECAST DISCUSSION  
NWS WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD  
349 PM EDT THU JUL 02 2026  
 
VALID 00Z FRI JUL 03 2026 - 00Z SUN JUL 05 2026  
 
...A PROLONGED AND DANGEROUS HEATWAVE CONTINUES ACROSS THE CENTRAL  
AND EASTERN U.S. THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK AND INTO THE  
INDEPENDENCE DAY WEEKEND...  
 
...SEVERE WEATHER AND HEAVY RAIN THREATS ARE FORECAST ACROSS  
PORTIONS OF THE PLAINS, UPPER MIDWEST, OHIO VALLEY, MID-ATLANTIC,  
AND NORTHEAST THE NEXT FEW DAYS...  
 
...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS PERSIST OVER PARTS OF THE FOUR  
CORNERS THROUGH SATURDAY...  
 
A STRONG UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE WILL REMAIN ANCHORED ACROSS THE CENTRAL  
AND EASTERN U.S. THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK, SUPPORTING A  
PROLONGED AND DANGEROUS HEATWAVE FROM THE MIDWEST TO THE OHIO  
VALLEY, MID-ATLANTIC, AND NORTHEAST INTO THE INDEPENDENCE DAY  
WEEKEND. WIDESPREAD HIGH TEMPERATURES OF 95 TO 105 DEGREES IN  
ADDITION TO VERY HIGH HUMIDITY WILL RESULT IN PEAK HEAT INDICES OF  
100 TO 115 DEGREES. NUMEROUS DAILY TEMPERATURE RECORDS ARE  
EXPECTED, WITH SOME MONTHLY AND ALL-TIME RECORDS POSSIBLE. LITTLE  
TO NO RELIEF IS EXPECTED THE NEXT COUPLE OF NIGHTS AS VERY WARM  
OVERNIGHT LOW TEMPERATURES DROP ONLY INTO THE MID 70S TO LOW 80S.  
COMBINED, THESE CONDITIONS WILL LEAD TO AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF  
WIDESPREAD MAJOR TO EXTREME HEATRISK. THESE CONDITIONS CAN BRING  
AN INCREASED RISK FOR HEAT-RELATED ILLNESS, ESPECIALLY FOR  
VULNERABLE POPULATIONS AND THOSE WITHOUT ADEQUATE COOLING.  
WIDESPREAD EXTREME HEAT WARNINGS AND HEAT ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT  
ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND EASTERN U.S. THROUGH FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.  
 
MEANWHILE, ON THE NORTHERN PERIPHERY OF THE UPPER-LEVEL RIDGE, A  
QUASI-STATIONARY FRONTAL BOUNDARY EXTENDING FROM THE NORTHERN  
PLAINS INTO THE UPPER MIDWEST AND GREAT LAKES WILL ACT AS A FOCUS  
FOR MULTIPLE ROUNDS OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THE NEXT FEW  
DAYS. THE SLOW-MOVING FRONT COMBINED WITH A SERIES OF PASSING  
DISTURBANCES INTERACTING WITH A MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR MASS WILL  
SUPPORT ORGANIZED SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS CAPABLE OF PRODUCING  
DAMAGING WINDS, LARGE HAIL, ISOLATED TORNADOES, AND HEAVY RAINFALL  
THAT CAN LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. AS THE RIDGE BEGINS TO BREAK  
DOWN, PASSING DISTURBANCES WILL CAUSE THE SLOW-MOVING FRONT TO  
GRADUALLY PICK UP SPEED AND SINK SOUTHWARD FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY.  
THIS WILL SHIFT THE SEVERE WEATHER AND HEAVY RAINFALL THREAT INTO  
THE CENTRAL PLAINS, OHIO VALLEY, MID-ATLANTIC, AND NORTHEAST  
HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND.  
 
OUT WEST, CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH  
FRIDAY AND SATURDAY OVER PARTS OF THE FOUR CORNERS STATES AS GUSTY  
TERRAIN-DRIVEN WINDS COMBINE WITH VERY DRY AIR AND EXCEPTIONALLY  
DRY FUELS. THESE CRITICAL CONDITIONS WILL SUPPORT THE LONGEVITY OF  
SEVERAL ONGOING LARGE FIRES ACROSS THE REGION, MANY OF WHICH WILL  
BE CAPABLE OF EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL  
SUBSIDE SHORTLY AFTER SUNSET THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS, BUT POOR  
HUMIDITY RECOVERY WILL LIKELY SUSTAIN ACTIVE FIRE ACTIVITY THROUGH  
THE NIGHT AND INTO THE DAY ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY.  
 
 
MILLER  
 
GRAPHICS AVAILABLE AT  
HTTPS://WWW.WPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/BASICWX/BASICWX_NDFD.PHP  
 
 
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