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National Situation Update: Monday, July 24, 2006

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Heat Wave Continues in the West on Monday

West:Hot temperatures will continue for much of the region on Monday with highs mostly in the 80s-90s. The Desert Southwest, including the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts will again have temperatures above 110. 

Phoenix, Arizona set a record high of 114 degrees on Sunday afternoon. The area from Washington State to Southern California also set record highs with temperatures exceeding 100.

Isolated thunderstorms including light rainfall are expected throughout the region on Monday.

Midwest:  Hot air moving eastward from the West will collide with cooler air moving southward from Canada on Monday afternoon and evening to create conditions for severe thunderstorms over the Great Lakes region. Tornadoes are possible in the area from Michigan to Minnesota.

Highs in the region will range from the 70s in Upper Michigan to the 90s in the Gulf region.

Northeast:  Except for a few showers in northern New England, the Northeast will have mostly sunny and dry weather on Monday with highs ranging from the 70s in New York and New England to the 90s in Virginia.

South:  A slow-moving warm front on a line extending from Texas to the Carolinas is expected to bring thunderstorms to the Southeast and Gulf Coast on Monday. 

Highs in the region will be mainly in the 80s-90s with some 100+ temperatures in Texas and Oklahoma.  (NOAA National Weather Service, media sources)

Missouri Storm Recovery Efforts

While winds continue to remain relatively calm, temperatures are expected to rise into the low 90s Monday and Tuesday.

Ameren U.E. officials indicate the majority of customers in the St. Louis area are expected to have power restored by Monday July 24th, with the remainder by July 26th.  As of 5:00 pm EDT Sunday, July 23rd, approximately 247,000 customers did not have electric power. Of those, 163,000 were in St. Louis County and 66,000 were in the City of St. Louis. 1,600 utility crews are involved in power restoration efforts and 1,100 tree crews are assisting with debris removal and the removal of trees from power lines.

The State EOC reports an increase in injured from 30 to 54; deaths increased from 2 to 3.

The American Red Cross, Salvation Army and Southern Baptist Convention have opened 9 fixed feeding stations, 10 mobile feeding units and 74 cooling stations, providing 6,914 meals in the St. Louis area.

Shelter populations are decreasing steadily as people return to their homes. As of July 23rd, sixteen shelters were housing 638 people.

Preliminary Damage Assessments have not yet been conducted, but are expected to begin on Monday or Tuesday. The City of St. Louis is reassessing the need for a Response Operation and setting plans to go into recovery mode. Eads Bridge in the City of St. Louis remains closed. The Public Water Systems in the cities of Potosi and Caledonia are inoperable and both have requested water assistance. 

The Region VII RRCC is activated to a Level 3 (monitoring). Public Officials and Applicant Briefings for the City and County of St. Louis are tentatively scheduled for July 25th. One full-time Voluntary Agency Liaison (VAL) will be deployed to Washington County. ESF-3 (Public Works and Engineering) Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) for debris removal and logistics and commodities deployed to St. Louis as of July 23rd.

The designated FCO and State Liaison have been deployed to the State EOC. ESF-5 (Emergency Management) has been activated, and staffing has been determined for the St. Louis area Joint Field Office as soon as the site is secured. The State indicates there is no longer a need for Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATS), however 1 Management Support Team (MST) and 10 Registered Nurses have deployed to St. Louis at the State's request.  (FEMA Region VII, Missouri State EOC)

Tropical Activity

Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea: Disorganized shower activity continues in the southwestern Gulf of Mexico. Upper level winds could become a little more favorable for development during the next few days as the area of disturbed weather moves slowly to the north or northwest. No tropical storm formation is expected through Tuesday in the North Atlantic or Caribbean Sea. 

Eastern Pacific:  At 5:00 a.m. EDT Monday, the center of Hurricane Daniel was located near latitude 16.1 north longitude 139.8 west approximately 1,000 nautical miles from Hawaii. Daniel has maximum sustained winds of 98 mph and is traveling west-northwestward over open water at 15 mph. Daniel is expected to gradually lessen in intensity during the next 3-4 days, however the NWS indicates Daniel could still be a significant Tropical Storm in five days when it may make landfall at Hawaii. Local, State, and Federal officials will continue to monitor Daniel's progress to warn the public if the storm will pose any threat to the U.S. or U.S. interests. 
At 5:00 a.m. EDT Monday, the center of Tropical Storm Emilia (formerly Depression Six-E) was located near latitude 18.4 north longitude 109.7 west off the coast of Baja California Mexico. Emilia has maximum sustained winds near 68 mph. The storm is presently moving toward the west-northwest at a speed near 9 mph. Emilia is forecast to remain over warm water during the next 24-36 hours, however after 36 hours Emilia is expected to move over cooler waters that should weaken the storm. On its current path, Emilia does not pose a threat to the U.S. or U.S. interests.
Elsewhere in the eastern Pacific, no tropical storm activity is expected through Monday.

Western Pacific: Typhoon Kaemi (Six-W) is expected to maintain its current wind speed of 85 mph as it moves towards Taiwan during the next 24 hours. Based on the current forecast this system does not pose a threat to the U.S. or its territories. (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

National Preparedness Level 4 (On a scale from 1 to 5)
[NOTE:  Level 4 exists when any of the following conditions are present:  two or more regions of the country are experiencing incidents requiring Type I Teams or competition exists for resources between Geographic Areas or when 425 crews or five Type I Teams are committed nationally. During Level 4, some firefighting resources may be pre-positioned to respond to predicted incidents and liaisons are established with the military and Canadian resources.]

Wildfire activity was heavy nationally with 354 new fires reported.

Twenty one new large fires were reported, five each in the Southern California and Western Great Basin Areas, three each in the Eastern Great Basin and Southwest Areas, two each in the Northwest and Southern Areas, and one in the Northern California Area. 

Ten large fires were contained, two each in the Eastern Great Basin Area Northern Rockies, Southern California and Western Great Basin Areas, and one each in the Southwest and Southern Areas. 

Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.   (National Interagency Fire Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)