NEW YORK, NEW YORK — The latest 7-day precipitation forecast from the NWS Weather Prediction Center, valid 12Z Friday, September 18 through 12Z Friday, September 25, 2026, and issued at 1032Z by the WPC forecast team, points to heavy rain potential stretching from the southern High Plains and Rockies through the Midwest and Northeast, along with a separate zone over southern Florida. Forecasters caution that scattered flash flooding is possible within the areas seeing the heaviest rainfall over the coming week.
How to Read This Week’s 7-Day Rainfall Outlook
The 168-Hour Day 1-7 QPF, short for Quantitative Precipitation Forecast, uses a color scale running from light purple at under 0.01 inches through greens, blues, yellows and oranges, up to deep red and purple shading representing totals of 4, 5, 7 inches or more over the full week. Rather than pinpointing a single storm, this map blends together everything expected to fall over the next seven days, giving a big-picture view of which parts of the country are trending toward a soggy week and which are likely to stay largely dry.
Southern High Plains and Rockies Face a Concentrated Heavy Rain Pocket
Across the southern High Plains and Rockies, the map shows a pocket of deep red shading centered over the Texas Panhandle, eastern New Mexico and southern Colorado, suggesting communities including Amarillo, Lubbock, Albuquerque, Colorado Springs and Pueblo could see some of the heaviest weekly totals anywhere in the country, potentially topping 4 inches in the most concentrated spots. If you’re anywhere in this corridor, this is a week where outdoor plans, especially anything near normally dry washes or low-lying terrain, deserve a closer look at daily updates rather than relying on today’s outlook alone.
Upper Midwest and Ohio Valley Both See Their Own Heavy Rain Pockets
The Midwest sees two separate concentrated zones of heavier rain over the coming week. One sits across the Upper Midwest, stretching from North Dakota into Minnesota, affecting communities like Fargo and Minneapolis, while a second distinct pocket forms over the Ohio Valley, covering areas around Columbus, Cincinnati and Louisville. Both zones show the same deep red and purple shading indicating multiple inches of rain possible over the full week, separated by a broader stretch of more moderate green-shaded rainfall covering much of Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois in between.
Northeast Faces the Widest Stretch of Heavy Rain in the Country
By far the largest continuous area of heavy rain potential on this week’s map covers the Northeast, with deep red and orange shading blanketing nearly the entire region from Pennsylvania and New York through New England and down into the Mid-Atlantic. Communities including New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh all fall within this extensive zone, suggesting this could be one of the wetter weeks of the season for much of the East Coast corridor, with widespread totals likely running well above what’s typical for a normal week in late September.
Southern Florida Sees Its Own Isolated Zone of Heavy Rainfall
Separate from the broader Northeast and Midwest activity, a distinct pocket of deep purple and red shading appears over the southern tip of Florida, covering the Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach area. If you’re anywhere in South Florida, this outlook points to a genuinely wet week ahead, standing in contrast to central and northern parts of the state, which show far lighter, mostly green and blue shading on the same map.
Scattered Flash Flooding Possible Within the Heaviest Rainfall
Forecasters specifically flagged scattered flash flooding as a possibility wherever the heaviest rainfall sets up over the coming week, whether that’s the southern High Plains, the Midwest’s twin pockets, the broad Northeast corridor, or South Florida. Because this outlook covers a full seven days rather than a single storm, the flash flooding risk isn’t necessarily tied to one dramatic event, but rather the cumulative effect of repeated rounds of rain falling on the same ground day after day, gradually reducing how much additional water the soil and drainage systems in these areas can absorb.
Where the Week Stays Drier Across the Country
Not every region shares in this week’s wetter pattern. The map shows notably lighter shading, whites, light greens and pale blues, across much of Texas outside the Panhandle, the Deep South including Mississippi and Alabama, and central Florida. Farther west, most of California, Nevada and the Desert Southwest stay largely dry as well, aside from some moisture reaching the Pacific Northwest coastline. If you’re in one of these drier zones, this week’s outlook suggests your area should stay mostly on the sidelines while the heavier rain focuses elsewhere.
What Residents in the Highlighted Zones Should Do This Week
If you live within any of today’s highlighted corridors, the southern High Plains, the Midwest’s Upper Midwest or Ohio Valley pockets, the broad Northeast, or South Florida, it’s worth checking daily forecast updates throughout the week rather than treating this outlook as the final word, since individual days within the seven-day window will carry their own more specific timing and intensity details. With scattered flash flooding already flagged as a possibility, residents in areas prone to poor drainage or with a history of localized flooding should keep half an eye on the forecast as this active week unfolds.
