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National Situation Update: Sunday, June 7, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather Forecast

West:
A frontal system will produce isolated thunderstorms over the Pacific Northwest, Great Basin and central Rockies. Gusty winds and low relative humidity will produce an elevated fire threat in most of Arizona and New Mexico. The Northwest, Nevada, Great Basin and central Rockies will remain unsettled through the upcoming week.
Midwest:
Showers and thunderstorms from the High Plains of the Dakotas and Nebraska across, the mid-Mississippi Valley to the Great Lakes. Severe thunderstorms ( large hail, wind gusts and even  tornadoes) are possible from Kansas to southern Wisconsin.
 The region will remain active tomorrow with the risk of severe thunderstorms across the southern Great Lakes, Ohio Valley and Missouri.
South:
Showers and thunderstorms across the eastern Carolinas, southern Georgia and Florida. A few strong thunderstorms could develop east of the dry line (a boundary separating moist and dry air masses) in Texas and Oklahoma.  Tomorrow, thunderstorm activity in the Southeast will increase and a few severe thunderstorms will develop in Arkansas and Oklahoma ahead of the cold front.
Northeast:
The cold front extends across northern Pennsylvania, New York City and southern New England. Showers will spread eastward from northern Pennsylvania into New England.  Showers and thunderstorms will dominate the region through Wednesday. (National Weather Service, various media sources)

Tsunamis

A tsunami (pronounced "soo-nah-mee") is a series of ocean waves caused by any large, abrupt disturbance of the sea-surface. Earthquakes cause most tsunamis, but a tsunami can also be generated by landslides, volcanic activity, or rarely by meteor impact. If the disturbance is close to the coastline, a local tsunami can cause death and destruction among coastal communities within minutes. A very large disturbance, such as the magnitude 9.1 earthquake off the Sumatra coast in Dec 2004, can generate waves that cause local devastation and destruction thousands of miles away.

In the deep ocean, the tsunami wave may only be a few centimeters high. However, tsunami waves, because of their long wavelengths, lose little energy as they travel. This means that while the tsunami wave may come gently ashore, depending on the energy, landforms, direction of travel, tides and other factors the wave may come ashore as a deadly, fast moving wall of turbulent water several meters high. In deep water, the waves may reach speeds exceeding 435 miles per hour.

While the frequency of damaging tsunamis in the United States coastal areas is low compared to many other natural hazards, the impacts can be extremely high. Tsunamis cannot be prevented but the impact of a tsunami can be mitigated through community preparedness, timely warnings, and effective response. Developing tsunami-resilient communities depends on enhanced Federal, State and local capabilities in each of the following seven areas:

  • Determining the Threat
  • Preparedness
  • Timely and Effective Warnings
  • Mitigation
  • Public Outreach and Communication
  • Research
  • International Coordination

NOAA has primary responsibility for providing tsunami warnings for the U.S. and a leadership role in tsunami observations and research. For more information about tsunamis and building tsunami resilient communities, visit NOAA's Tsunami Website. (NOAA)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No activity. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic:
Cloudiness, showers and thunderstorms over the southwestern Caribbean Sea are associated with a broad area of low pressure.  Although significant development is not likely at this time the system will bring locally heavy rains to portions of Central America over the next couple of days.  There is a less than 30 percent chance of this system becoming a Tropical Cyclone during the next 48 hours.
Eastern Pacific:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Western Pacific:
No activity. (NOAA, HPC, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

On June 6, 2009, a swarm of earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 2.3 to 5.2 occurred offshore southeast of False Pass, AK.  There were no reports of damage, injuries or tsunamis.  (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level:  1
National Fire Activity as of Saturday, June 6, 2009:
Initial attack activity:  Light (115 new fires)
New large fires: 3
Large fires contained:  0
Uncontained large fires: 3
States affected: AK, AZ, NM and TX  (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center, NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center, NGB)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Monday, 08-Jun-2009 07:47:15 EDT