(AP) — Much cooler and less humid air that first arrived over the Upper Midwest on Thursday will continue to spread to the southeast today.

The leading edge of the cool air will allow more showers and thunderstorms to fire up in New England, the coastal mid-Atlantic and parts of the Tennessee and lower Ohio valleys. Some communities can be hit with heavy rain, urban flooding and strong wind gusts in some of the storms.

Storms will also erupt in the lingering hot and humid air over the Southeast during the afternoon.

Very hot, humid conditions will hold on over the South Central states. Hot and humid air will surge northward over the deserts and Rockies and initiate spotty thunderstorms. Cool and damp conditions are forecast to spread over the Pacific coast.

The tropics are still quiet, with an area of thunderstorms near the Bay of Campeche the only item of even small interest.