Cool conditions in the eastern U.S. will gradually erode, leaving much of country experiencing near- or above-normal temperatures heading into the upcoming holiday weekend.  In addition, Eastern precipitation will be scarce over the next 5 days during the warming trend.  Farther west, however, precipitation associated with a Pacific storm system will shift southward through California before a late-week expansion into the Southwest.  Simultaneously, precipitation will broadly develop across the nation’s mid-section, with the heaviest rain—locally 1 to 2 inches or more—expected from the southeastern Plains to the central Gulf Coast. 

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