Well here's something that you don't see everyday. If your someone that follows along with the SPC on a daily basis when was the last time that you saw a SLIGHT RISK area issued for the mountains of Washington State and Oregon. Honestly, you dont see it very often.

Two cold fronts will bring two rounds of severe weather this afternoon. This first front will slam into the west coast effecting the PAC northwest. The second front moves into the Mid Atlantic and Northeast bringing heavy weather to inland locations.

Click on the image below for a look at the SLIGHT RISK issued by the SPC.

PACIFIC NORTHWEST

As a mid level short wave trough moves inland thunderstorms will develop across the area. Dewpoints are forecasted to be pretty high across northern Washington State this afternoon climbing up into the low to mid 60's. Along with that we're seeing strong instability throughout the area with CAPE values spiking between 2,000 - 2,500 J/kg and lifted indicies between -5 / -8. It doesnt's sound overly impressive but you have to remember that these are the mountains, so your already getting some lift to begin with.

Thunderstorms that develop this afternoon/ evening will be capable of producing strong gusty winds and large hail. 

NORTHEAST/ MID ATLANTIC

Scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected to develop out ahead of an approaching cold front that slammed southern Michigan and portions of the Midwest, Central Plains yesterday. Wind fields are mainly unidirectional so the threat of tornadoes is low. A few supercells could develop here or there so there's always the slimmest of chances. But the main threats with these storms will be strong gusty straight-line winds and large hail.

A couple of reasons why we're not going to see the same kind of weather today as we did yesterday is because dewpoints are fairly low for this time of the year. Philadelphia at 4:00pm yesterday had a dewpoint of 45! When was the last time you can remember seeing a dewpoint that low in July! I mean of course it happens, and it has probably happened more times than i am realizing but that just shows you how comfortable the air has been over the region. Today dewpoints are a little higher across interior sections. Most locations should at least climb back into the low to mid 60's by this afternoon. So there's a little more moisture to work with today in the Northeast than there has been. But still, to see a strong round of severe weather you would typically like to see a little more moisture in the air.

Another limiting factor will be the clouds hovering across the area putting a little bit of a damper on daytime heating from the sun. Although the latest satellite image does appear to show some clearing now. The question is will it be enough? CAPE values and lifted indicies are moderate at best for this time of the year. So again, parameters are certainly high enough for strong thunderstorms this afternoon and a few of them will turn severe. It's just that they will not be as intense as yesterday's severe weather was across the Midwest.