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National Situation Update: Sunday, June 4, 2006

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Record Breaking Heat in Southwest

Northeast:   On Sunday, a steady rain and widespread showers will give way to a few showers and scattered afternoon thunderstorms across the Northeast and New England. Some of the thunderstorms that develop during the afternoon hours could briefly reach severe limits in the Mid-Atlantic and the central Appalachians with gusty winds and hail being the primary threats. Look for temperatures to warm into the upper 70s from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia, the 60s from Pittsburgh to New York and northern Maine. The upper 50s are possible in Massachusetts but, if the sun peaks through the clouds, the mercury should jump in the 60s.

South:  Scattered thunderstorms, some reaching severe limits, are in the forecast on Sunday from the Dakotas to central Oklahoma. Any rain is welcome in the Great Plains where a drought is underway. Temperatures on Sunday are forecast to range form the 70s around the Great Lakes to the Ohio River Valley, with the 80s from North Dakota to northern Arkansas, with the 90s and a few triple digits in western Kansas and the Oklahoma Panhandle.

Midwest:  Sunday, across the South, the forecast is hot and mostly sunny with highs ranging from the 90s across southern Georgia to the triple digits in the Texas Panhandle. The 80s will blanket the rest of the South with a few 70s in the Appalachians and the piedmont of Virginia. Pop-up afternoon thunderstorms are possible across southern Florida and around the Southeastern Coastline of Georgia, South and North Carolina on Sunday. Scattered afternoon thunderstorms are forecast to become more numerous on Monday across the Southeast and the lower Mississippi River Valley.

West:  A ridge of high pressure is anchored over the Desert Southwest resulting in record heat from Utah to the US/Mexico border. Triple digit heat extends from Las Vegas to Phoenix with excessive heat warnings posted between mid-morning and late-evening on Sunday. The heat also extends into Southern California and the Central Valley with highs on Sunday in the 90s. A strong but quick moving Pacific storm system will move onshore into the Pacific Northwest tonight and move into the Northern Rockies of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana during the afternoon bringing a good chance of strong to severe thunderstorms.   (NWS, Media Sources)

Potential Flash Flooding in Massachusetts and New Hampshire

June 1-4, 2006 heavy rains (1" -4") could cause minor to moderate flooding in Northeastern MA and Southeastern NH.  A 24 hour watch is still in affect.  Streams and rivers are currently within their banks.  No catastrophic rainfall is expected.  Massachusetts and New Hampshire have activated their EOC's through Saturday night as a precaution. There have been no requests for Federal assistance at this time.  FEMA Region I is monitoring event with existing MA and NH JFO staffs. (Source: FEMA Region 1 Incident Report)

Flooding in Waterbury Connecticut

Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell visited Waterbury on Saturday to tour the worst of the damage with Mayor Michael Jarjura. The governor said she believes the flood-related damage could be severe enough to qualify for federal disaster aid. Flooding problems and damage from rain-fueled mudslides in Waterbury have prompted the city's mayor to declare a state of emergency and seek federal repair funds. "It was just an amazing thing to see," Rell said afterward, describing how mudslides in one area covered a road, displaced gas lines and tore away pavement. "In some areas, the only way to describe it is to say that entire sections just buckled under themselves." City and state engineers will meet in the next few days with a representative of the Federal Emergency Management Administration to assess the damage and repair costs, she said.(AP NEWS)

High water lingers after heavy rains in Corpus Christi, TX

The heaviest rains have passed, but Coastal Bend residents are still recovering from storms that dumped more than a foot of water in areas last week. The airport received 12.35 inches of rain between Wednesday morning and Friday afternoon. Kleberg County got between 12-15 inches from Monday to Thursday and Ricardo alone received at least 13.56 inches of rain Thursday and Friday. Officials with the National Weather Service said the storms kept regenerating. A lot of these storms were slow-moving. The same areas were hit over and over again, and that caused the flooding, said a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Corpus Christi. It became somewhat of a hybrid of a tropical storm because it would taper off and then redevelop. Rain also kept police, fire and transportation officials busy this week with stalled vehicles and flooded roads. Several roads in Kleberg County remain closed Saturday. (AP News)

Ft Myer Building Implosion

At 6:30 am EDT, Sunday, June 4, 2006, a building at Ft Myer, VA will be imploded in a scheduled demolition.  Expect to hear sirens and an explosion.  Local police will handle any road closures.  There is No FEMA involvement.  (WAWAS)

Tropical Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

Current Situation:  (Data reported as of Saturday, June 3, 2006 - 0600 EDT.) Initial attack activity was light nationally with 114 new fires reported. Three new large fires reported in the Southwest Area. Four large fires were contained, two each in the Southern and Southwest Areas. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas, and Wyoming.

National Preparedness Level is 2 (On a scale of 1 to 5).

Wildfire Forecast:  Above normal temperatures will persist for much of the West today with thunderstorms, some of them dry, for mainly eastern Arizona and western New Mexico. Winds will increase across portions of the Great Basin and the Northern Rockies associated with a weather disturbance to the north. In Alaska, a storm system will bring showers and cool temperatures. (National Interagency Fire Center, NWS, Storm Prediction Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)