Skip to content

National Situation Update: Saturday, June 7, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

Midwest
Strong thunderstorms and rain will continue through Monday from the Central Plains to the Great Lakes.
Northeast
Isolated thunderstorms are possible across the northeast and mid-Atlantic; northern New York and northern New England are likely to experience strong thunderstorms. Temperatures will surge 10 to 20 degrees above average: A Heat Advisory is in effect from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. EDT for the Mid-Atlantic region, from central North Carolina north to New Jersey. An Excessive Heat Watch remains in effect from Sunday afternoon through Monday afternoon. High temperatures will reach the middle and upper 90s each day. The hot temperatures, combined with high humidity, will combine to create a situation in which heat illnesses are possible; heat indices will approach 105 degrees this afternoon and may approach 110 degrees Sunday and Monday.
South
Isolated thunderstorms in the Appalachians, eastern North Carolina, southern Florida and the northern Gulf Coast will not provide enough precipitation to relieve the drought over the Southeast, nor will a few thunderstorms over the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles. Scattered thunderstorms with locally heavy rain are possible from the Hill Country of South Texas to the lower Rio Grande.
West
A cool air mass will keep temperatures as much as 10 to 18 degrees below average and produce the possibility of showers, thunderstorms and mountain snow from northern California, Washington, and Oregon northward into Montana and Wyoming. (NWS, Media Sources)

Mid - Atlantic Severe Weather Recovery

The National Weather Service determined that tornadoes occurred in Maryland's Calvert County, near Chesapeake Beach, and in Virginia's Clarke County. Preliminary Damage Assessments also indicated that tornadoes likely touched down in Culpeper and Stafford counties in Virginia. Power outages: As of Friday evening Pepco reported 5,523 outages; Dominion Virginia - 4,401; Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative - 605; BGE - 2,394; and Allegheny Power - 1,020 outages. (Referenced power companies)
Maryland
Local damage assessments from three of seven affected counties indicate major damage to homes as follows: Washington County - six homes; Baltimore County - two; Anne Arundel County - two homes. The State will determination the need for Joint PDAs after county damage assessments are complete.
Virginia
The State conducted damage assessment fly-overs in ten counties; local damage assessments to date indicate 37 homes damaged. Numerous schools were closed due to electrical outages. Virginia EOC is at Routine Operations; and no request for Federal assistance is anticipated.
West Virginia
One fatality due to flooding was confirmed in Marion County. National Shelter System (NSS) reported one shelter open overnight Thursday with a population of four. Joint IA and PA PDAs in eight counties are scheduled to begin June 7. As of Friday night approximately 2,019 residents were without power in 15 counties. (FEMA HQ, FEMA Region III, National Weather Service, VDEM,Allegheny Power, Appalachian Power).

Mid -West Severe Weather Recovery

A powerful storm system swept across the Central Plains and Midwest June 3-6 bringing tornadoes, damaging winds, lightning and heavy rainfall.
Indiana 
One fatality and 3 injuries reported due to storms that occurred throughout the state June 3. As of Friday night the State EOC reported sporadic damage in seven counties: Delaware County - roof damage to four structures and 2,200 without power; Grant County - two injuries and 14,000 without power. NSS reported one shelter was open Thursday night with a population of 60. Joint IA PDAs in two counties affected by the May 30 storms have been completed. No requests received for Federal assistance.
Kansas
At least four tornadoes touched down in western and central Kansas Thursday, June 5, resulting in damage to homes/businesses and power outages. Kansas has requested PA PDAs for approximately 30 counties and IA PDAs for 2-3 counties for storms that occurred May 22 and continuing. PDAs are scheduled to begin next week.
Iowa
Isolated damage from tornado touchdowns occurred in southern Iowa Thursday night, June 5, and continuing. Minor to moderate flooding is forecast for most areas; sandbagging is taking place along the Mississippi at Burlington. The State EOC will continue 24-hour operations over the next few days. The State requested IA PDAs for five counties and PA PDAs for seven counties be add to 1763-DR-Iowa.  The PDA start date has not been determined. The Iowa JFO for 1763-DR-IA deployed a FEMA Liaison to assist the State and provide situational awareness to the JFO and Regional staff.
Nebraska
The State reports flooding, downed power lines, and some structural damage in 15 counties. Shelters were set up in Sanders County due to tornadoes and high winds; shelters provided in Polk and Cass County due to flooding. NSS reported three shelters open overnight Thursday, with a population of 31. Joint IA PDAs that began Monday, June 2 were scheduled to be completed Friday, June 6.  PA PDAs are scheduled to be completed by Monday, June 9. Additional PA PDAs may be requested.
South Dakota
Rain from storms on June 4 and 5 produced flooding across the state. Moderate flooding is occurring and forecast to continue in five Counties. The State EOC is activated and sandbagging operations are occurring at several locations. NSS reported two shelters open with a population of 12 on Thursday night. FEMA Region VIII State Support Team (SST) was activated and will deploy to the South Dakota EOC in Pierre, SD today, June 7. Region VIII RRCC will be operational today to support the SST.

USGS Better Prepared to Help Emergency Officials this Hurricane Season

The U.S. Geological Survey is better prepared this hurricane season to ensure that emergency managers have quick access to critical water information.

A new downlink backup system guarantees the availability of stream flow information from more than 7,000 USGS stream gages across the nation. The backup system would kick in if the current downlink system is damaged during a storm, ensuring that emergency managers have uninterrupted access to the information they need.

Information about stream flows is critical to making informed decisions about flood and storm response activities before, during and after a hurricane. In cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal, state and local agencies, the USGS operates a stream gage network that provides up-to-the-minute data that is critical in order to issue flood warnings and community evacuations.

Real-time water data from the stream gage network is transmitted to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's GOES satellite. The satellite then relays the transmissions to various satellite downlinks. (USGS)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No new activity to report.  (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean
A westward-moving tropical wave is currently near the Windward Islands.  Upper-level winds are forecast to remain unfavorable for tropical cyclone development; however, this system could produce showers, thunderstorms, and gusty winds over portions of the Windward Islands today. Elsewhere, tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Eastern Pacific:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Western Pacific:
No activity.(NOAA, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Cente, 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: 2
National Fire Activity as of Friday, June 6, 2008: Light wildland fire activity was reported (122 new fires). A total of eight large fires are burning 68,447 acres. Two large fires were contained and three new large fires were reported in Texas and New Mexico.
Fire Weather:  Continued hot and dry in the Carolinas and Florida, with mostly light winds. A few thunderstorms are possible in Florida. Light winds along with warmer and dryer weather for the Southwest and west Texas. 
Red Flag Warnings in effect in California through 9:00 p.m. PDT this evening for the Northern Sacramento Valley and from 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. PDT for the Central and Southern Sacramento Valley as well as the northern San Joaquin Valley and the Delta for winds and low humidity.
Red Flag Warnings in effect from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. MDT for southeast Colorado, northeast and central New Mexico, and portions of southwest Kansas due to winds in excess of 25 mph combined with humidity of 15% or less and dry fuels.
Evans Road Fire, North Carolina:  The Governor declared a State of Emergency in three counties affected by the wildfire, located seven miles south of Creswell, Hyde County, North Carolina, in and around a wildlife refuge in eastern NC. As of 4:00 p.m. EDT Friday the fire had burned over 29,000 acres and was 30% contained. Two injuries have been reported. 80 homes were voluntarily evacuated. (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center, NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, NGB)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 16:35:42 EDT