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National Situation Update: Sunday, June 18, 2006

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

South:  Strong thunderstorms will cover parts of Arkansas, western Tennessee, western Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and eastern Texas Sunday, with more heavy rain, possibly totaling as much as 3 to 6 inches in a few locations. In the upcoming week, sections of the Southeast that missed out on Alberto's rains could finally get the opportunity for isolated or scattered thunderstorms. Easterly flows off the Atlantic combined with summer heat will bring gusty thunderstorms across Florida, especially central to southern Florida.
                                                                                                    
Northeast:  A few thunderstorms could develop and move eastward across New England overnight. Sunday will be a hot day across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

Midwest:  On Sunday, strong thunderstorms and heavy rain will extend from Wisconsin and Michigan to southern Missouri and the western half of Kentucky. Showers will linger over North Dakota and northern Minnesota.

West:  The West will be mainly dry Sunday through Friday. A new Pacific disturbance, though, will spark a few strong thunderstorms over the northern Rockies Sunday and parts of Montana and Wyoming Monday as it sweeps eastward.  (National Weather Service, Media sources)

Tropical Activity

Atlantic: No tropical storm activity.
Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea:  No tropical storm activity.
Eastern Pacific: No tropical storm activity
Western Pacific: No tropical storm activity. (USDOC/NOAA/NWS, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

A minor earthquake was recorded in western Montana, 35 miles west of Bozeman, Montana. The magnitude 3.6 quake occurred at 6:05 p.m. local time Saturday, and produced no reports of damage or injuries. Earlier in the day a magnitude 3.9 was recorded in the same vicinity. (Source: United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Center)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

Residents were allowed to return to their southwestern New Mexico homes briefly on Saturday as fire crews continued to battle the 8,535 acre Skates wildfire that had forced an evacuation two days earlier. More than 200 homes in the Lake Roberts area had been evacuated Thursday.   No homes have been damaged. Lightning sparked 23 wildfires in northeastern New Mexico this week, all burning in remote areas. All but four of those fires were contained Saturday and the rest were 80 percent contained.

A wildfire 30 miles east of the northeastern Arizona city of Page is at 45 percent containment as crews make progress on the blaze. Two communities on the Arizona-Utah border were threatened by the fire. But Navajo Mountain in Arizona and Rainbow City in Utah are no longer a major concern for fire crews. (National Interagency Fire Center, media sources)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)