Skip to content

National Situation Update: Saturday, July 11, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

West:
Much of the West will be dry, with the exception of a few severe thunderstorms across southern Wyoming and Colorado.  Temperature highs will range from the 80s and to mid-90s across the lower elevations of the Northwest and from 100 to 118 in the Desert Southwest.
Midwest:
A cold front will produce showers and severe thunderstorms across the Great Lakes, mid-Mississippi Valley and lower Missouri Valley.
Temperatures will range from the 70s in the Upper Midwest along the Canadian border to the lower 100s in southern Kansas.  Flood Warnings are in effect for eastern South Dakota and west-central Missouri until further notice.
South:
Thunderstorms are possible across Arkansas, the Tennessee Valley, the Carolinas and Florida throughout the weekend.  Temperature highs will be in the upper 80s and lower 90s for the Southeast, while the southern Plains will reach the upper 90s to low 100s. An Excessive Heat Warning is in effect until 7:00 a.m. CDT today, for eastern Oklahoma and portions of northwest Arkansas, heat index values are expected to reach 105 to 110 degrees.  A Flood Warning is in effect for south-central Missouri until further notice.
Northeast:
The threat of thunderstorms will increase Saturday across West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and upstate New York; storms may produce heavy rain, hail and gusty winds.  Today's highs will range from the 70s across New York and New England to the 80s in the Virginias.  (NOAA, National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No activity.  (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Eastern Pacific
Tropical Storm Carlos
On Saturday July 11, 2009 at 2:00 a.m. PDT, the center of Tropical Storm Carlos was located about 955 miles SSW of the southern tip of Baja California.  TS Carlos is moving toward the west near 13 mph and a motion just north of due west is expected over the next couple days.  Maximum sustained winds are near 65 mph with higher gusts.  Additional strengthening is forecast and TS Carlos is forecast to become a hurricane later today.  Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 70 miles from the center and the estimated minimum central pressure is 994mb.

Area 1
An area of disturbed weather is located several hundred miles south of Acapulco, Mexico.  Although shower and thunderstorm activity is currently minimal, conditions appear favorable for some slow
development of this system as it moves westward near 10 mph over the next couple of days.

Central Pacific
No tropical cyclones are expected through Sunday morning.

Western Pacific 
No activity affecting U.S. territories.  (NOAA, HPC, 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:  2
National Fire Activity as of Friday, July 10, 2009:
Initial attack activity: Light (151 new fires)
New large fires:  10
Large fires contained:  1
Uncontained large fires:  12
States affected:  UT, CA, OR, AK, AZ & TX (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center, NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Monday, 13-Jul-2009 07:38:07 EDT