Daily briefing: Wild ride across Eastern Plains

It was a thunderous wake-up call across the central Plains and into the Midwest this morning. The storms will continue a slow push eastward. More soggy trouble is brewing in the Southeast and Florida. The Daily Briefing is published every weekday promptly at 5 a.m. ET.

A slow-moving cold front is the catalyst for widespread thunderstorms stretching from Texas northeastward into the Great Lakes this morning. Downpours will keep the risk of flash flooding lingering through this morning. The heavy rain and embedded thunderstorms are found on the WeatherRadar.

This front will slide eastward this afternoon, bringing thunderstorms from the Ozarks to the Great Lakes. Although not as potent as Tuesday's storms, a few could produce damaging winds. Always make sure that alerts are turned on to receive the latest on storm development.

Heavy rain and thunderstorms will continue across Florida into the Southeast coast today. This will be a continuation of the wet weather already seen since the weekend. Localized flash flooding will remain a threat in areas that see persistent downpours, trackable on the WeatherRadar.

The rest of the East and Northeast, along with the Western Plains and the West Coast, will be quiet on Wednesday. A few afternoon showers and thunderstorms will be possible across the Southwest and central Rockies.

The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic will see the return of summer on Wednesday as highs jump into the 80s and 90s. The same temperatures will be found throughout the South, Southwest, and interior California, while cooler 70s will be found across the western and central Plains.

The same system bringing the downpours to Florida and the Southeast will need to be watched for future sub-tropical or tropical development on Thursday or Friday. If a system were to form, it would likely develop off the Southeast Coast and bring persistent downpours before diminishing as it pushes over Cape Hatteras and then off the East Coast.

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