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National Situation Update: Thursday, July 30, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather Forecast

West:
The Pacific Northwest will remain unseasonably hot following yesterday's record highs. Temperatures will be up to 20 degrees above average - near 100 in Seattle and Portland. The West Coast will remain mostly dry, but scattered showers and thunderstorms are forecast in higher elevations.
Midwest:
An upper level trough will remain centered over the North Central U.S. allowing weather systems and cooler air to move southward out of Canada. An upper level disturbance will produce showers from the Dakotas to the western Great Lakes. Showers and thunderstorms are forecast along the front, from the Mid-Mississippi Valley into the Ohio Valley.
South:
A frontal system combined with tropical moisture off the Gulf of Mexico will produce scattered showers and thunderstorms across the region. Heavy downpours and localized flooding is expected. By tomorrow some areas will have received one to two inches of precipitation. Severe thunderstorms are possible from northern New Mexico to central Texas.
Northeast:
The cold front along the coast will produce showers and thunderstorms from the Mid-Atlantic to New England. Widespread showers and thunderstorms are forecast tomorrow, as the frontal system moves out of the Midwest. (NOAA, National Weather Service, various media sources)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

FEMA-2823-FM-WA approved July 29, 2009, for the Union Valley Fire in Chelan County, Washington. The fire has burned approximately 1,000 acres and is only 40 percent contained.
Over 500 individuals from 100 homes have been evacuated. An additional 50 homes are on alert to evacuate. Three power structures have burned. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic
Tropical Cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Eastern Pacific
Disorganized showers and thunderstorms continue in association with a tropical wave located about 1,350 miles east-southeast of the Hawaiian Islands. There is a less than 30 percent chance of this system becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.
Central Pacific
Tropical Cyclone formation is not expected through Friday afternoon.
Western Pacific 
No activity. (NOAA, HPC, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, NWS Guam)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level 3
National Fire Activity as of Wednesday, July 29, 2009:
Initial attack activity: Moderate (251 new fires)
New large fires:  4
Large fires contained: 0
Uncontained large fires:  20
States affected:  OR, WA, CA, UT, ID, MT, AK, TX, NC, NV & CO(NIFC)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Thursday, 30-Jul-2009 08:00:08 EDT