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National Situation Update: Monday, April 23, 2007

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather

Midwest:  A storm system will move through the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley with scattered showers and thunderstorms Monday, April 23, 2007.  A few thunderstorms could contain some small hail, but should remain below severe limits.  Rain amounts should be 1/2 inch or less across the region.

West:  Low pressure through the Intermountain West Monday, April 23, 2007 will bring fresh snow to the mountains and scattered showers and thunderstorms to the valleys. 
Some thunderstorms could contain small hail.  Snow could accumulate 3 to 7 inches at altitudes above 8,000 feet from central Nevada east to Colorado and north to Idaho by the afternoon of April 23, 2007.

Northeast:  Increasing clouds and scattered afternoon showers and thunderstorms may keep temperatures a few degrees cooler across western New York and western Pennsylvania Monday, April 23, 2007.  A cold front moves through the region Monday night, April 23, 2007 and Tuesday, April 24, 2007.  A few light showers may accompany the front as it passes.

South:  High pressure dominates the Southeast through the middle of the week.
A bigger storm is forecast to drop out of the Rockies bringing a threat of severe thunderstorms Monday night, April 23, 2007 and Tuesday, April 24, 2007 across the southern Plains and Texas.   (NWS, Media Sources)

Texas Severe Weather Damage Update

The State of Texas State Operations Center (SOC) received an updated report to the severe weather damages in Moore County from the storms on April 21, 2007.  

An Incident Command Post and a Salvation Army Canteen have been established at Cactus Elementary School .  The Emergency Operations Center in Dumas has been activated.  

Cleanup in Cactus will begin April 23, 2007.  Texas Department of  Criminal Justice (TDCJ) will provide work crews on Tuesday to begin debris removal. 

One shelter has opened at the Dumas Community Building; the Sunray shelter has closed.  The Trinity Fellowship Church group is assisting with Mass Care.  A curfew has been imposed from dusk until dawn for the City of Cactus.   (FEMA MOC/Denton, TX SOC)

Tornado Levels Houses In Texas Panhandle

Downed power lines, flattened houses and roads littered with debris kept many residents from returning to their homes Sunday in this rural Panhandle town hit hard by what appeared to be a group of tornadoes.  At least 14 people were injured, two of them critically, during the storms late Saturday that knocked out power to about 20,000 customers in the region, officials said.

Cactus was among one of the few areas in the Panhandle still without power Sunday, an Xcel Energy spokesman said.

The National Weather Service in Amarillo, about 60 miles south of Cactus, sent survey teams to the area Sunday to determine how many tornadoes hit the region.

At least a dozen homes and as many businesses were destroyed in Tulia, about 50 miles south of Amarillo, but there were no serious injuries, a Tulia police dispatcher said.   (Media Sources)

Tropical Weather Outlook

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

On Sunday, April 22, 2007 at 1:34 pm EDT, a 4.9 magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of 25 miles about 58 miles south-southwest from Sand Point, Alaska.  No Tsunami was generated from this event, and there were no reports of damage or injuries.  (NOAA, USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

PDAs are continuing in New York, New Jersey, Maine, and New Hampshire assessing damage from the Nor'Easter on April 16 - 18, 2007.   (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

Sweat Farm Road Fire near Waycross, Ware County, Georgia: 55,619 acres have burned; fire is 30% contained.

Most of the growth in acreage was due to burnout operations with newly constructed lines on the south side of the fire.  More fire breaks are being built with burning that will back towards the fire to support the fire breaks.  Estimated date of control is April 27, 2007.  (Source: Georgia Forestry Commission Wildfire Situation Report #9, USFS Inciweb).  

The Kneeknocker Fire, in Brantley County, Georgia:  2,300 acres have burned; 95% contained.

GFC tractor strike teams are completing plowing of lines around the fire.  Firefighters are working within containment lines to extinguish areas still on fire and monitor smoldering areas which could produce sparks that could cross firebreak lines.  Wildland fire engines are carrying water to hose hot spots near the fire lines.   (Source: Georgia Forestry Commission Wildfire Situation Report #9).

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)