Skip to content

National Situation Update: Sunday, April 19, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

South
Locally heavy rain and thunderstorms, some severe, are forecast from the lower Mississippi Valley through the Southeast Sunday and Monday.

Midwest  
Rain and thunderstorms will dominate the Midwest on Sunday, with the exception of the Plains. Thunderstorms in the lower Ohio Valley could be severe. The storm will slowly move eastward through the Midwest Monday and Tuesday. Significant snow accumulations are possible over portions of west and central Upper Michigan from Sunday night through Monday night. Wet snow will mix with rain across northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan on Monday.

West  
Except for a few western Washington showers on Sunday and Wednesday, the West will be precipitation free through midweek. Unseasonable hot weather is expected across much of southwestern California Sunday into Tuesday. Interior northern California and parts of the Northwest will see some daily record high temperatures. Increased snow melt due to unseasonable temperatures in the upper 80s and mid 90s is expected into early next week, especially in the southern Sierra Nevada.
 
Northeast  
Rain showers and a few strong thunderstorms will move into the Mid-Atlantic on Sunday while much of the rain in Upstate New York and New England clears out. The storm system moving east from the Midwest will move through the region today through mid-week. (National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

Texas Rain Event

Harris County and the Houston area, as well as several other counties in southeast Texas, experienced intense rainfall that began Saturday afternoon and continues. Some areas received up to seven inches of rain in less than three hours. Most of the impact is anticipated to effect low-lying areas and flood pasture land. The Guadalupe River at Victoria may impact some homes, a zoo, and a golf course. 
National Weather Service (NWS) is forecasting several rivers in southeast Texas and Louisiana to rise above flood stage by early next week with minor flooding forecast.

Region IV Severe Weather Update

RRCC is at Watch/Steady State with on-call status for the weekend. The Region IV ERT-A is deployed to the Florida EOC. FEMA Liaisons have deployed to the Georgia and Florida EOCs. Most river locations in northern Florida have crested and are slowly receding. Several locations along the Suwannee River continue to rise but are expected to crest on Monday or Tuesday.

Region V Flooding Update

RRCC is activated at Level III, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. CDT. Region V IMAT demobilized Saturday, April 18, 2009.

Minnesota:
State EOC is on-call for the weekend and will return on April 20, 2009, 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. CDT. Region V Logistics Incident Staging Base (ISB) is at Dilworth, MN. Two Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) are open; one fixed DRC in Moorhead, MN and one Mobile Disaster Recovery Center (MDRC) in Breckenridge, MN. Public Assistance (PA) Property Damage Assessments (PDA) were completed in 11 counties as well as in the Yellow River and White Earth Tribal communities.

Red River Flooding Update

Region VIII:
RRCC is activated at Level III, on-call for the weekend and will return April 20, 2009, 6:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. MDT. The North Dakota State EOC is activated at Level I, 24/7. There are four DRCs open; 3 fixed DRCs and 1 mobile DRC. Joint Individual Assistance (IA) and PA PDAs are ongoing.

The Red River has crested at most river gauge sites. However, steady high water levels, at many locations, are above major flood stage. The Sheyenne River at Valley City and Lisbon has crested, but remains above major flood stage.

Region X – Mt. Redoubt, Alaska Volcano Activity

The volcano remains at Aviation Color Code: ORANGE and Alert Level: WATCH. Seismicity remains elevated. Satellite data show no evidence of a thermal anomaly through the clouds. The steam plume that was observed on Saturday is likely still present. FEMA representatives are at the FEMA Region X Alaska Area Office in Anchorage. The Alaska State Emergency Coordination Center (SECC) remains at Level YELLOW: Elevated.

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No activity. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

A 5.3 magnitude earthquake occurred on Saturday, April 18, 2009 at 7:31 p.m. EDT, in the Near Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska, 95 miles WNW of Attu, at a depth 20.3 miles. There were no reports of damage, injury, or tsunami generated. 

A 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurred on Sunday, April 19, 2009 at 1:23 a.m. EDT, near Kepulauan Telaud, Indonesia, at a depth of 21.7 miles. The earthquake occurred in a historically active seismic area.  There were no reports of damage or injury. The NWS West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center reported that a tsunami would not be generated. (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center  and West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 16:25:36 EDT