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National Situation Update: Monday, May 28, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

More Rain and Thunderstorms on Monday

Midwest
A stalled front just north of the Ohio River will generate more thunderstorms in the lower Midwest. A new storm will move into the northern Plains with a round of severe thunderstorms.

South
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, showers and thunderstorms will continue to plague the southern Plains and move eastward into the lower Mississippi Valley. Oklahoma and the central and eastern parts of Texas are in for more locally heavy (1-4 inch) thunderstorm rains, as weak upper-level disturbances traverse the south-central states and a cold front dips southward into the Red River Valley. Heavy thunderstorms will also move into Louisiana. The Southeast will remain smoky and parched with only a few isolated showers in southern Florida.

Northeast
The southward push of a cold front through New England and southeast New York will quickly end any showers and thunderstorms there by Monday afternoon. The fast-moving cold front will bring scattered thunderstorms to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and the Mid-Atlantic during the evening with possible lightning, gusty winds and downpours.

West
The Northwest storm will bring showers and thunderstorms to the northern Rockies and the high Plains of Montana and Wyoming before exiting into the Plains Tuesday.

Update on Storms and Flash Flooding in Texas and Oklahoma

Flash floods, road closures, rescues, structure damage and evacuations have resulted from storms that cycled into Texas and Oklahoma over the Memorial Day weekend. Some areas in Oklahoma and central and Eastern parts of Texas continue to be impacted by heavy rains as weak storm systems combine with tropical moisture offshore, hammering the south-central states with recurring precipitation which is predicted to continue through Thursday.

The Highway Patrol and Department of Transportation officials for both states continue to assist local officials as high water conditions occur and recede on the states' roadways. Emergency Management officials for affected counties, and State EM operations centers, are actively engaged in monitoring and responding to high-water and flash-flood situations. FEMA Region VI RRCC remains activated at Level III, maintaining open communications with each state and situational awareness of the storms and flooding throughout the region. There have been no requests for federal assistance.

Texas - Heavy rain is expected to continue through Monday in North, Central and South Texas. Flood watches are in effect in these parts of Texas. The State is re-deploying Search and Rescue resources near Interstate 35 in Central Texas. As of Sunday, May 27th there have been two reported high water rescues - one in Medina County and one in Parker County. There was also minor flooding of several roads at the Palo Duro Canyon State Park in Randall County. Most roads are now open. Two Texas National Guard Helicopters and a Texas Task Force 1 crew successfully rescued 13 people at the 3rd crossing of River Road. In the River Road area of Comal County an evacuation was mandatory for more than 1,000 tourists, but was voluntary for home owners. The Texas Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol assisted with the evacuation. The San Antonio American Red Cross reports 25 people were in the shelter as of 5:45 p.m. CDT Sunday evening, May 27th. The shelter location was recently moved to the Canyon Intermediate School, New Braunfels. No other state assistance has been requested.

Oklahoma - In Central Oklahoma it is expected that rain will continue until Thursday. Numerous County Emergency Management offices report damage to roads and bridges due to flooding. Oklahoma Department of Transportation (ODOT) officials are working water on roadways in Carter, Johnston, Murray, Woodward and Stephens Counties.

In Carter County the Mountain Lake Reservoir flood gates were opened Sunday morning to relieve pressure on the dam. Residents and jurisdictions downstream were notified via radio and television announcements. Flooding occurred late Saturday night and early Sunday morning in Lawton, Comanche County. No evacuations were required; however four people were rescued from vehicles stranded in high water. Several cars were washed off the US-81 highway near the Chisholm Trail Mall, and motorists stranded in cars due to high water had to be rescued by the Duncan Fire Department in Stephens County. Woodward City/County Emergency Management reports road closures south of Ft Supply Lake. All campgrounds are flooded, some areas with several feet of water. The lake is not expected to reopen for several more days. (FEMA Region VI, Texas State Operations Center, NGBJOC)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean: No significant activity to report.
Eastern Pacific: The National Hurricane Center is issuing advisories on Tropical Depression One-E, located about 695 miles south of the southern tip of Baja California.
At 5:00 am EDT Monday, TD One-E was moving westward at 6 mph with maximum sustained wind speed near 35 miles per hour. Elsewhere, tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Western Pacific: No significant activity to report. (NOAA, 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 as of 08:00 am MDT Sunday, May 27, 2007.

National Fire Activity: Initial attack activity was light Saturday, with 122 new fires reported burning 1,551 acres. Currently, there are 14 fires and complexes over 500 acres in size nationwide. Two existing fires exceeded the 500-acres threshold Saturday:  Jinx in Florida and Joe Lewis in North Carolina. One fire larger than 500 acres was declared 100% contained yesterday - the 853-acre Highway fire in Nevada.

New large fires:     1
Large fires contained:     2
Uncontained large fires:  17 (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 4,871 personnel committed to wildfires nationally, a 15% decrease from the previous day.

Significant Fire Weather - Red flag warnings are in effect for portions of Utah and Nevada in the Great Basin for extended periods of low humidity, warm temperatures, and gusty winds.  Dry weather will persist today over the Southeast. The Great Basin will see gusty winds and low humidity along with a few dry thunderstorms. California and Arizona will be dry today. Interior Alaska will be mostly cloudy with scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms in the eastern and southern sections. (National Interagency Fire Center, National Incident Information Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)