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National Situation Update: Sunday, May 27, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Stormy Weather in Central U.S. this Weekend

Midwest
A cold front will move eastward through Michigan, southward into the northern Ohio Valley, and then stall over northern Missouri and northern Kansas Sunday.

Thunderstorms will prevail from southernmost Michigan and Ohio to parts of Kansas, adding to possible flooding in southeast Kansas, Missouri and west-central Illinois.

South
East of the Mississippi River the South will remain dry through midweek, except for a few thunderstorms over the Florida Peninsula, the Smoky Mountains, and northern North Carolina. The drought in this area will continue to worsen.

Additional flooding rains and thunderstorms will persist across parts of central and eastern Texas and Oklahoma over the next 3 days.

Northeast
Expect a cold front in the eastern Great Lakes Sunday, with the possibility of severe thunderstorms and damaging wind gusts across upstate New York and northern Pennsylvania.

Most of the Northeast will be dry by Tuesday, except for a few isolated thunderstorms in the southern Mid-Atlantic.

West
Another cold front and scattered thunderstorms, a few of which could turn severe, will move across the Northwest Sunday and Monday.

A few thunderstorms could develop in Colorado and New Mexico.

Overall, the West will become increasingly warmer and drier in the upcoming week, except for coastal California where the cool marine layer will keep temperatures cooler. (NWS, Media Sources)

Tropical Weather Outlook

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

Missouri: Individual Assistance and Public Assistance PDAs in 12 counties have been completed. Individual Assistance and Public Assistance PDAs in the remaining 20 counties are continuing. (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level: 2 as of 10:00 am Saturday, May 26, 2007.

National Fire Activity:

• Initial attack activity: 175 (Light)
• New large fires: 6
• Large fires contained: 7
• Uncontained large fires: 19 (does not include naturally ignited, managed fires (WFU) or confine/contain incidents).
• States reporting large fires:  California (1), Florida (6), Georgia (5), North Carolina (1), Nevada (2), Alaska (1).
• There are 5,713 personnel committed to wildfires nationally, a 31% increase from Friday.
• Initial attack activity was light yesterday, with 175 new fires reported burning 13,728 acres. Currently, there are 13 fires and complexes over 500 acres in size nationwide. There was one new fire larger than 500 acres yesterday - Mooseheart in Alaska. Four fires larger than 500 acres were declared 100% contained yesterday - Edwards Creek in Nevada, Middle of Nowhere in Florida, Roundabout Swamp and Kneeknocker Swamp in Georgia.
• Red flag warnings are in effect for much of the Eastern Florida panhandle and Florida Big Bend and portions of Georgia and Alabama for extended periods of low humidity, warm temperatures and wind.  Dry weather should continue over the Southeast. California, Arizona and the Great Basin will see warmer and drier weather, with a few thunderstorms possible over eastern Arizona. Interior Alaska will be dry, except for a slight chance of rain showers or thunderstorms in the eastern and southern sections. (National Interagency Fire Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

Oklahoma:  The Governor of Oklahoma has requested a disaster declaration for 25 counties affected by excessive rainfall and tornados during the period May 4-11, 2007.

The Governor is requesting Public Assistance for 25 counties and Hazard Mitigation statewide.

Florida:  The Governor of Florida has requested an emergency declaration for the State of Florida as a result of wildfires and severe drought conditions throughout Florida commencing on March 25, 2007 and continuing.

The Governor is requesting Public Assistance (Categories A and B) for all counties except Broward, Miami-Dade and Monroe and should include debris removal around threatened properties and removal of fire-damaged improved property.   (FEMA HQ)