National Situation Update: Friday, May 5, 2006
Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).
National Weather
South: Most of the nation's active wet stormy weather will target the South right through the weekend. A sluggish cold front plus boundaries from past thunderstorms will focus the storms yet to come. The upper-level disturbance that triggered the flooding rain in southeast Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, southwest Missouri and Arkansas Thursday morning will zip from Tennessee to off the southern Mid-Atlantic Coast today. Thunderstorms will develop or be ongoing from the Virginias and Carolinas to eastern Texas with some severe from southern Virginia to northeast South Carolina. Meanwhile, a new upper-level disturbance from out of the Southwest will arrive over the southern Plains later in the day. More heavy rain and severe thunderstorms will develop over Texas. Tonight and tomorrow, thunderstorms with the potential for flooding rain will continue over Texas, spread across Oklahoma and then advance into Arkansas. Scattered severe thunderstorms will spread eastward across the northern Gulf Coast States tomorrow. Over the next three days, the only parts of the South to miss out on any significant rain will be south Texas and the Florida Peninsula.
Northeast: The cold front will move through the Northeast with little fanfare. Any showers or thunderstorms will be confined to northern New England or the Virginias. By tomorrow, low pressure will swing northward offshore from east of New Jersey to the Canadian Maritimes as cooler air infiltrates the Northeast. Eastern parts of the region could see a few showers.
Midwest: With the South center stage for all of the active weather, the Midwest will have to deal with the fringes. Showers will linger in parts of the central Plains today as showers and a few thunderstorms clip Kentucky. Tomorrow, showers will continue over parts of Kansas and expand into southern Missouri while a few weekend showers pop up over Upper Michigan and northern Wisconsin.
West: Showers and some mountain snow will be slow to exit the Rockies and both the central and southern high Plains today and tomorrow. (NWS, Media Sources)
FEMA Regional Activities
Missouri Flooding, May 4, 2006, 9:00 am EDT
This morning the National Weather Service (NWS) service reported that last night (05/03) at around 2100 CDT a van carrying eight people tried to cross a low water crossing on Riley Drive approximately 2.5 miles north of Sleeper in Laclede County, Missouri. Sleeper is north of Lebanon on Highway F. The van was washed off the bridge and into a small stream. All eight people were washed downstream. Six were able to make it to a farmhouse where they called 911. The seventh person was washed 1 1/4 mile downstream before he was able to get out of the water. The eight person was found deceased about a mile downstream of the crossing.
Local emergency personnel conducted rescue operations. State assistance was not required.
There is no potential for Federal involvement. This incident was not beyond the local community's capability. This will be the only incident report issued for this event. (FEMA Region VII)
Puerto Rico Fiscal Crisis Update, May 4, 2006, 3:45 pm EDT
The impasse between Governor Anibal Acevedo Vila and the PR House of Representatives continues. This morning, the PR Senate approved a project which imposes a tax to some corporations, and Senate Resolution 1468 authorizing the Government Development Bank to advance funds to the Treasury Department for up to $531 million to cover wages, salaries and operations. Those measures are at the House for evaluation. Of the $114.5 million which were approved by the House and signed by the Governor on Tuesday, the funds will be distributed to the Education Department, the Corrections Administration, and the Health Department.
Of all the government agencies, 43 have been closed since Monday, 15 are partially open and 60 are operating normally. Workers unions, government employees and mayors continue protest rallies by throughout the island, at the Governor's House, and at the State Capitol building and scheduled to continue tomorrow. During the weekend, union leaders will meet to determine the possibility of a general island-wide strike for Monday, May 8th.
The Police Department continues in alert status. PRSEMA's EOC continues activated monitoring the situation. As a result of this fiscal crisis, DHS/FEMA postponed the planned Hurricane Preparedness Exercise scheduled to be conducted next Monday and Tuesday (8-9 May). A future date will be coordinated with all the parties. (FEMA Region II)
Rock Slab Growing at Mount St. Helens
If the skies are clear as forecast, volcano watchers who turn out for the reopening of the Johnston Ridge Observatory on Friday will get a spectacular view of a hulking slab of rock that's rapidly growing in Mount St. Helens' crater. It's jutting up from one of seven lobes of fresh volcanic rock that have been pushing their way through the surface of the crater since October 2004.
The fin-shaped mass is about 300 feet tall and growing 4 feet to 5 feet a day, though it occasionally loses height from rockfalls off its tip, said Dan Dzurisin, a geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey. It began growing last November, steadily moving west and pushing rock and other debris out of its way as it goes.
Mount St. Helens has been quietly erupting since a flurry of tiny earthquakes began in late September 2004. Scientists initially mistook the quakes as rainwater seeping into the hot interior of the older lava dome. But it soon became clear that magma was on the move, confirmed by the emergence of fire-red lava between the old lava dome and the south crater rim a few weeks after the seismic activity began. The volcano has continued pumping out lava ever since. Eventually, scientists expect the volcano will rebuild its conical peak that was obliterated in the May 18, 1980, eruption that killed 57 people.
The current growth of the new lava dome has been accompanied by low seismicity rates, low emissions of steam and volcanic gases and minor production of ash, the USGS said. Scientists flew a helicopter into the crater late last week to adjust equipment and take photographs that will likely be used to determine just how much the new lava dome has grown the last several months. Their latest measurements, taken in December, showed that the new lava dome was about 96 million cubic yards in volume - enough to fill a football field with a stack of rock 10 1/2 miles high, the USGS said.
Scientists know the new dome is now larger than the old dome, a mass that's about 97 million cubic yards in volume that formed from a series of eruptions from 1980-1986. The Johnston Ridge Observatory, which closes down every winter, is the closest observatory to the 8,364-foot peak. It sits about five miles north of the mountain and offers the closest views of the volcano's horseshoe-shaped crater. Johnston Ridge was named after David A. Johnston, a volcanologist killed in the 1980 eruption. (USGS)
New Orleans Hotels to Close in Hurricanes
This hurricane season, don't count on the city's hotels for "vertical evacuation" when a major storm makes a beeline for New Orleans. The hotels, often used as a hurricane haven in the past, will be banning guests and employees from riding out the largest storms, said Bill Langkopp, executive vice president of The Greater New Orleans Hotel & Lodging Association. When Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans on Aug. 29 and swamped the city, thousands of hotel guests ended up stranded for days in miserable and dangerous conditions.
The hotels have been working with emergency officials to develop an evacuation plan for guests, and hotel managers said they don't expect to have difficulty persuading people to leave after last summer's devastation.
Earlier this week, Mayor Ray Nagin announced a hurricane plan for New Orleans that focuses on getting everyone out of the city ahead of hurricanes stronger than Category 2, or those with sustained winds of 111 mph or higher. Katrina is believed to have been Category 3 or 4 when it hit. The new city plans relies on trains and buses to remove residents who do not have their own transportation. (Media Sources)
Tropical Activity
No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Earthquake Activity
A minor earthquake (magnitude 3.4) struck 7 miles north-northwest from San Simeon, California on May 4, 2006 at 12:45 pm EDT. There were no reports of damage or injuries. (Source: United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program)
Preliminary Damage Assessments
No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Wildfire Update
Current situation: Initial attack activity was light nationally with 88 new fires reported. No new large fires were reported. Two large fires were contained in the Southern Area. Very high to extreme fire indices were reported in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Kansas, and Pennsylvania.
Fire Weather Watches: Southeast Arizona for strong southwest winds and low humidity. Most areas of interior Florida on Friday for continued low afternoon humidity.
Red Flag Warnings: In effect for most of Florida for long durations of humidities less than 35%.
Outlook: A dry northwest flow aloft will result in low humidity over the mid Atlantic states southward to Florida. A developing upper trough in the Great Basin will bring low humidity and gusty winds to portions of the Southwest. (NIFC, NICC)
Disaster Declaration Activity
No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Last Modified: Friday, 05-May-2006 08:00:53 EDT