For The Associated Press

(AP) - Weather Underground Forecast for Friday, May 18, 2012.

Scattered showers and thunderstorms will persist over the Northern and Central Plains on Friday, as a low pressure system lingers over the North-Central US. This system will continue pulling warm and moist air in from the Gulf of Mexico, creating warm and humid conditions over the Plains. This will allow for scattered showers and thunderstorms to develop throughout the day, but severe thunderstorm development is not likely.

Meanwhile, the back side of this system will kick up a few scattered showers across the Northern and Central Rockies. Heavy rainfall is not anticipated in these areas.

In the Southwest, a ridge of high pressure hovers over the region and maintains warm and dry conditions across the region. This will create high temperatures, low relative humidity, and strong surface winds which will allow for fire danger to remain high across Arizona, New Mexico, southern Utah, and western Colorado.

In the East, a cold front sags through the Southeast and stall over Florida and the Gulf Coast. This will kick up a few more scattered showers and thunderstorms, some of which may turn severe with strong winds and large hail. The rest of the Eastern US will see a dry and sunny day with mild temperatures as a ridge of high pressure stretches from the Northeast through the Eastern Valleys. Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Thursday have ranged from a morning low of 24 degrees at Mt. Washington, N.H. to a high of 100 degrees at Needles, Calif.

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