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National Situation Update: Friday, May 4, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather Forecast

Midwest
A complex and slow-moving storm in the West will affect the Plains over the next several days; expect severe thunderstorms in the central Plains as the system moves out of the Rockies. There will be scattered showers and thunderstorms from the Ohio Valley westward to Iowa and Missouri, and showers on Saturday from the upper Mississippi Valley to the Ohio Valley. There is a chance for showers in Louisville for the Kentucky Derby (National Significant Event).

West
Rain and mountain snow are forecast across the Northwest and Intermountain West. Significant snowfall is expected across the higher elevations of Idaho and western Montana down to Utah, and eastward to Colorado. Rain and snow will slide slowly eastward on Sunday.

South
Showers and thunderstorms will be scattered across the Southeast. There is a chance of rain in areas of southeast Georgia, where fires are still burning. Scattered thunderstorms are forecast across the eastern Gulf Coast region on Saturday.

Northeast
Parts of New York, Pennsylvania, and New England are expecting morning temperatures  in the 30s, rebounding to the 60s over most locations, except for Maine where 40s and 50s will prevail. Showers will fall across parts of West Virginia. (NWS, Media Sources)

Power still out in Texas for up to 140,000

A handful of schools and businesses closed Thursday as electric crews worked through the night to restore power to as many as 300,000 customers in central and north Texas. Oncor Electric Delivery -- a newly re-named subsidiary of TXU -- calls this the fifth worst storm in the company's history.

Since Wednesday, about 100,000 customers have regained their service, but some areas could take up to a week to totally repair. The electric utility representative indicated that the strong winds knocked down at least 17 towers southeast of Cleburne, which caused many of the outages.

The City of Dallas stated that damage in the City of Dallas appears to be limited to downed trees, downed power lines, and power outages. The National Weather Service said it had reports of wind gusts of up to 100 mph in Terrell in Kaufman County, just to the east of Dallas.

Across the state, three people have died in the past three days during these spring storms - two hit by lightning and a third stuck in a submerged car. Emergency crews responded to dozens of high water rescues throughout the state. Meteorologists said they hoped Wednesday night's weather was the final round of severe storms and heavy rainfall for the next few days. (Media sources)

Wildfire Threat brings on State of Emergency in Florida

The Governor of Florida declared a state of emergency Thursday because of the increasing threat of wildfires from a drought that is affecting 90 percent of Florida.

Firefighters continued to battle blazes in Flagler and Lake Counties that have consumed several thousand acres. The Flagler blaze has grown to 2,200 acres, and officials said it is now about 40 percent under control.

Around noon Thursday Lake Fire officials reported no significant changes to the 875-acre brush fire near Red Oak, in the northeast part of the county. (Florida DEM, Media sources)

Tropical Weather Outlook

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

Minor earthquakes in the last 24 hours with magnitudes between 3.0 and 3.2 were reported in California (1), Alaska (3), and Puerto Rico (1). No reports of damage. (NOAA, USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level: 2

Initial attack activity: 192 (Light)
New large fires: 5
Large fires contained: 3
Uncontained large fires: 14
Area Command Teams committed:  1 NIMO; 1 Type 1 IMT; 4 Type 2 IMTs

Red Flag Warning:  Hot and dry weather will continue for one more day across north Florida, keeping the red flag conditions in place through Friday. A Red Flag Warning has been issued for Tucson, Arizona through Friday for hot, dry weather and winds. (NWS)

Predictive Services Discussion: Windy and dry conditions will continue today over portions of southern California and the Southwest. Winds will also increase over the northern Plains moving into the western Great Lakes. Dry conditions will develop in the Northeast associated with high pressure, however dry conditions in the Southeast will begin to improve. (NIFC)

Disaster Declaration Activity

FEMA-1692-DR-New York, Amendment # 1.  3 counties were added for Individual Assistance and 12 counties were added for Public Assistance  (FEMA HQ)