• Emergency Managers and Personnel
• Situation Reports
• National Incident Management System
• Grants & Assistance Programs
• Training
• Contacts
• Planning
• Best Practices

National Situation Update: Thursday, July 13, 2006

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

West:  The West will be mostly sunny and dry. Triple-digit heat will be baking the lower deserts of the Southwest as well as the southern San Joaquin Valley. A heat advisory is posted for parts of southwest Arizona with 113-degree heat expected. Western Washington highs in the 60s. Most of the Great Basin will be in the 80s and 90s. East of the Rockies, maxima in the 90s will reach as far north as the plains of eastern Montana.

Northeast:  A drying trend will set in across the Northeast. By evening, showers and thunderstorms likely will be found only across the Delmarva Peninsula, Virginia and West Virginia. The wetness may linger through tonight as a cold front comes to a stop in the region. Some locally heavy downpours could result. Meanwhile, during the day, high temperatures are forecast to be generally seasonable, ranging from the 70s to the 90s, although the 90s will be confined to southeastern Virginia.

South:  There will be scattered showers and thunderstorms in the South. Highs will be predominately in the 80s and 90s, although most of western Oklahoma and western Texas will be seared by readings soaring over the 100 mark.

Midwest:  Heat will be the headline story for the Great Plains and Upper Midwest. In parts of the lower Midwest, temperatures will be held down as scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected across the Ohio Valley, Kentucky and Missouri. Late-day storms, some of them severe, could erupt over the eastern Plains and western Minnesota. High temperatures are expected to range from the 80s in most of the lower Midwest to over 100 in portions of the Great Plains, especially South Dakota. Much of Minnesota, western Wisconsin, and parts of Missouri will be in the 90s. (NWS, Media Sources)

Tropical Activity

• Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea:  As of 1030 pm EDT July 12, a westward-moving tropical wave is moving through the Windward Islands. While the associated shower activity is currently minimal, it could produce some locally heavy rainfall and strong gusty winds over portions of the Lesser Antilles today. Surface pressures remain high in the area, and upper-level winds are forecast to become less favorable during the next day or so.  Therefore, development, if any, should be slow to occur as the system continues moving westward at 15 to 20 mph. Disorganized cloudiness and showers extending from the Florida peninsula southward to central and western Cuba are associated with a weak surface trough.  Pressures are also high in this area, and development, if any, should be slow to occur as the system moves WNW at 10 to 15 mph. Elsewhere, tropical storm formation is not expected through Friday.
• Eastern Pacific: As of 5:00 a.m. EDT today, both Hurricane Bud and Hurricane Carlotta continue to move off into the ocean. Neither storm is a threat to the U.S. at this time. Elsewhere, tropical storm formation is not expected through Friday.
• Western Pacific: Nothing significant to report.(USDOC/NOAA/NWS, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

Wildland fire activity was moderate nationally with 221 new fires reported.

Eight new large fires were reported, four in the Eastern Great Basin Area and one each in the Southern California, Western Great Basin, Northern Rockies, and Southern Areas.

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, Alaska, California, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming. (National Interagency Fire Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)