Shownotes
Today’s brief tracks a multi-day severe weather outbreak across the central United States with damaging winds, large hail, and tornado threats from Missouri and Illinois into Wisconsin and Michigan. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly issued a state of disaster emergency, FEMA opens a Disaster Recovery Center in King County, Washington, and the Highway 82 Fire in Georgia continues with mandatory evacuations and 87 homes destroyed. We also cover updated CISA federal remediation deadlines tied to active exploitation, USGS volcano alert levels at Great Sitkin and Kīlauea, a 3.3 magnitude earthquake near Redlands, California, ground stops at Chicago O’Hare and Denver International, and a Cedar Rapids boil water advisory extension. EM Morning Brief is your concise daily update on national and state-by-state emergency management news. Produced by Sitch Radio, an EOC Voices podcast.
Key Takeaways
• Severe weather outbreak: Day 6 of a Mid-Mississippi Valley to Great Lakes severe weather pattern produced 77 mph wind gusts at Milwaukee Mitchell, tornado warnings near St. Louis, and 260,000-plus power outages across six states; SPC continues an Enhanced Risk into the Tennessee Valley for Tuesday.
• Kansas state of disaster emergency: Governor Laura Kelly issued a verbal disaster declaration Monday morning for storms, tornadoes, and flooding from April 25-27, enabling state resource support to local agencies.
• FEMA opens King County, Washington Disaster Recovery Center today: Center opens Tuesday at the King County Elections Office in Renton for residents affected by the December 2025 storms; Individual Assistance application deadline is June 10, 2026.
• Highway 82 Fire, Georgia: Approximately 22,615 acres burned in Brantley County at 6% containment; 87 homes destroyed; mandatory evacuations and an 8:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m. curfew remain in effect; smoke continues to drift into north Florida.
• CISA federal deadlines (official update within five days): Federal civilian agencies have a May 4, 2026 deadline tied to the April 20 KEV additions, including PaperCut, JetBrains TeamCity, Kentico, Quest KACE, and Synacor Zimbra; SLTT and private operators should validate patches.
• Volcano alert levels: Great Sitkin remains at WATCH/ORANGE with continued lava effusion and dome rockfalls; Shishaldin at YELLOW ADVISORY; Kīlauea at YELLOW ADVISORY with eruption paused and next fountaining episode forecast May 2-6.
• Aviation impacts: FAA ground stops at Chicago O’Hare for severe storms produced 1,200-plus delays and 260 cancellations Monday; Denver International ground stop earlier the same day was lifted by afternoon.
• Iowa boil water advisory extended: Cedar Rapids boil water advisory extended through Tuesday after a second round of lab samples did not meet quality standards following the Mt. Vernon Road main break.
• Texas recovery: Wise County Judge issued a local disaster declaration and requested a state declaration after Saturday’s EF-2 (Runaway Bay) and EF-1 (Springtown) tornadoes that killed two and displaced at least 20 families.
• Utah hazmat evacuation lifted: West Bountiful 2,000-foot mandatory evacuation for the safe removal of decades-old dynamite stored next to a 2,500-gallon diesel tank was lifted just after 12:30 p.m. Monday with no injuries.
Sponsors
The NIMS Store - https://thenimsstore.com/
Sources
National weather, NIFC, and SPC
• NOAA Storm Prediction Center, Day 1 Convective Outlook
• NIFC, Incident Management Situation Report (April 26, 2026)
• National Hurricane Center, Atlantic outlook
USGS earthquakes and volcanoes
• USGS Volcano Notifications, Great Sitkin (April 27, 2026)
• USGS Volcano Notifications, Kīlauea (April 27, 2026)
• USGS Kīlauea Volcano Updates
FEMA
• FEMA, Disaster Assistance Center Will Open in King County (April 27, 2026)
• FEMA newsroom, press releases
DHS and CISA
• DHS, National Terrorism Advisory System
• CISA, Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog
• CISA Adds Four Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (April 24, 2026)
• CISA Adds Eight Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (April 20, 2026)
Travel advisories
• U.S. Department of State, Travel Advisories
• U.S. Department of State, Worldwide Caution
Public health
Aviation
• FAA, National Airspace System Status
• Newsweek, Denver Airport Issues Ground Stop Over Bad Weather (April 27, 2026)
• ABC7 Chicago, Strong storms bring O’Hare ground stop and flight delays (April 28, 2026)
California
• Spectrum News 1, Earthquake near Redlands downgraded to 3.3 magnitude (April 27, 2026)
• KTLA, Magnitude 3.4 earthquake rattles Inland Empire (April 27, 2026)
Florida and Georgia wildfires
• News4Jax, The Latest, Highway 82 Fire updates (April 27, 2026)
• WTOC, Brantley County wildfire grows past 20,000 acres (April 27, 2026)
• WUWF, Florida air quality threatened by continuing wildfires (April 27, 2026)
• UPI, Southeast wildfires explode in Florida and Georgia (April 27, 2026)
Iowa
• KCRG, Cedar Rapids precautionary boil water advisory extends to Tuesday (April 27, 2026)
Kansas
• WIBW, Kansas governor issues state of disaster emergency due to severe weather (April 27, 2026)
Missouri and Illinois
• The Watchers, Severe storms leave over 260,000 without power, 1 dead across Midwest (April 28, 2026)
• Washington Post, Strong tornadoes threaten millions in St. Louis, central U.S. (April 27, 2026)
Oklahoma
• CNN, Twin tornadoes spotted in northern Oklahoma (April 27, 2026)
• Fox Weather, EF4 tornado devastates Enid, Oklahoma
Texas
• CBS Texas, At least 2 dead, families displaced after severe storms slam North Texas
• WFAA, 2 deaths confirmed in storms that struck North Texas overnight Saturday
Utah
Washington
• Courier-Herald, King County opens flood disaster recovery center (April 27, 2026)
• KING 5, King County opens Disaster Recovery Center as FEMA assistance is approved
Wisconsin and Michigan
• WTMJ, High winds cause major damage across Milwaukee (April 27, 2026)
• Associated Press, Fast-moving storms batter the Midwest, flooding streets (April 27, 2026)
• Wisconsin Emergency Management, SEOC Update 6, April Severe Storms and Flooding
Transcripts
Good morning.
Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:Today's episode is sponsored by the NIMS Store.
Speaker A:A multi day severe weather outbreak across the central United States enters its sixth day with damaging winds, large hail and tornado threats stretching from the mid south into the Great Lakes.
Speaker A:The Storm Prediction center placed parts of Missouri and Illinois under a moderate risk on Monday with an enhanced risk extending across Tennessee, Arkansas, Indiana and Kentucky.
Speaker A:Fast Moving storms produced 77 mph wind gusts at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on Monday afternoon, knocked out power to roughly 250,000 customers across the Midwest and triggered tornado warnings near St. Louis.
Speaker A:The SPC Day 1 outlook for Tuesday continues to highlight a strong storm threat from the Tennessee Valley northeastward.
Speaker A: sistance tied to the December: Speaker A: King County Elections Office,: Speaker A:Separately, FEMA announced more than $137 million in mitigation grants on April 27, supporting more than 50 projects across 20 states and territories.
Speaker A:CISA continues to drive federal remediation deadlines tied to active exploitation Official update published within the past five days.
Speaker A:On April 24, CISA added four vulnerabilities to the Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog and on April 20 it added eight more including three Cisco Catalyst SD WAN manager flaws.
Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:State, local, tribal, territorial and private sector operators with Cisco Catalyst SD WAN Manager Papercut, NGMF, JetBrains, TeamCity, Kentico Experience Quest Case or Sinecor Zimbra Collaboration suite in their environments should validate patches and review for indicators of compromise.
Speaker A:USGS volcano observatories maintain elevated alert levels in the past 24 hours.
Speaker A:Great Sitkin in Alaska remains at watch with an aviation color code of orange with slow lava effusion and rock falls from the growing dome.
Speaker A:Shishaldin remains at yellow advisory in Hawaii.
Speaker A:Kilauea remains at yellow advisory with the summit eruption paused and the next fountaining episode forecast between May 2 and May 6.
Speaker A:The DHS National Terrorism Advisory System shows no current advisory and the State Department has not issued a level change in the past 24 hours, though the worldwide caution remains in effect in aviation.
Speaker A: rms contributing to more than: Speaker A:A weather driven ground stop at Denver International Airport on Monday morning was lifted later in the day.
Speaker A:Tropical activity is quiet.
Speaker A:The National Hurricane center routine Tropical weather outlook resumes May 15th.
Speaker A:Let's run through the States.
Speaker A:The Alaska Volcano Observatory continues Great Sitkin at watch with aviation color code orange.
Speaker A:Slow lava effusion and rock falls from the lava dome continued over the past day.
Speaker A:Shishaldin remains at yellow advisory.
Speaker A:Arkansas Storm spotters reported a brief tornado touchdown in northeast Arkansas along the Craighead and Poinsett county line just after midnight Tuesday.
Speaker A:Hail and wind damage were reported across the mid South.
Speaker A:Additional severe storms with damaging wind, heavy rain and hail are possible Tuesday evening.
Speaker A:California A preliminary 3.4 magnitude earthquake near Redlands at 7:47am PT Monday was downgraded to 3.3 by the USGS with a depth of about 2 miles.
Speaker A:Shaking was felt across San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
Speaker A:No damage or injuries reported.
Speaker A:Florida smoke from the Highway 82 fire in southeast Georgia continues to drift into north Florida, contributing to air quality concerns from Jacksonville westward.
Speaker A:Wildfires across north Florida and southern Georgia have prompted evacuations and a regional smoke advisory.
Speaker A: Statewide acreage burned in: Speaker A:Georgia The Highway 82 fire in Brantley county has burned approximately 22,615 acres and is roughly 6% contained.
Speaker A:At least 87 homes are reported destroyed.
Speaker A:More than 400 personnel are assigned.
Speaker A:Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for parts of Brantley county, with some downgraded to voluntary.
Speaker A:An 8:30pm to 6:30am curfew remains in effect and a burn ban covers all of south Georgia.
Speaker A:An American Red Cross shelter is open at the Selden park complex in Brunswick.
Speaker A:Hawaii Kilauea remains at volcano alert level.
Speaker A:Advisory with aviation color code yellow.
Speaker A:The summit eruption is paused.
Speaker A:The next fountaining episode is forecast between May 2 and May 6.
Speaker A:Illinois tornado warnings were issued in the St. Louis metropolitan area Monday evening.
Speaker A:Severe storms produced damaging winds, heavy rain and flooding across central and southern Illinois.
Speaker A:The FAA issued a full ground stop at Chicago O' Hare for severe thunderstorms.
Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:Indiana Severe storms with damaging winds and large hail crossed parts of the state Monday into early Tuesday as part of the broader mid Mississippi Valley outbreak.
Speaker A:Localized power outages were reported.
Speaker A:IOWA Cedar RAPIDS Precautionary boil water advisory has been extended through Tuesday after a second round of lab samples did not pass quality standards.
Speaker A:The advisory stems from a water main break on Mount Vernon Road.
Speaker A:Pressure has been restored, flushing has occurred and chlorine and bacteria sampling continues.
Speaker A:Kansas governor Laura Kelly issued a verbal state of disaster emergency at 9:50am Monday for severe thunderstorms, tornadoes and flooding from April 25 to 27.
Speaker A:The community of Hallowell was among the hardest hit and tornado damage was reported earlier at cabins at Kahola Lake in Morris County.
Speaker A:The declaration enables state resource support to local agencies.
Speaker A:Severe storms and high winds Monday produced widespread tree damage and roughly 80,000 power outages.
Speaker A:Combined with Wisconsin, at least one fatality was reported in Michigan after a tree fell during the storms.
Speaker A:State of emergency declarations issued earlier in April for dozens of counties remain in effect for ongoing flood and storm recovery.
Speaker A:Missouri Parts of central Missouri and southern Illinois were under a moderate risk for severe storms Monday with tornado warnings in the St. Louis area.
Speaker A:A confirmed tornado was reported near Germantown in Clinton County.
Speaker A:Heavy rain triggered street flooding and stranded motorists in the metropolitan area.
Speaker A:Oklahoma Twin tornadoes were reported near Foraker on Sunday and and additional severe weather skirted the state Monday as part of the regional outbreak.
Speaker A:Recovery from the April 23rd EF4 tornado in Enid continues with about 40 homes damaged and at least 10 injuries reported.
Speaker A:Severe weather affected portions of the state Monday into Tuesday with damaging winds and large hail.
Speaker A:The Storm Prediction center maintained an enhanced risk for parts of central and western Tennessee.
Speaker A:Recovery continues in Wise and Parker counties following Saturday night.
Speaker A:Tornadoes.
Speaker A:The National Weather Service rated the Runaway Bay tornado in Wise County EF2 with peak winds of 135 mph and the Springtown tornado in Parker County EF1 with 105 mph winds.
Speaker A:Two deaths were confirmed.
Speaker A:At least 20 families displaced.
Speaker A:Wise County Judge J.D.
Speaker A:Clark issued a local disaster declaration and requested a state declaration from governor Abbott.
Speaker A: old dynamite stored next to a: Speaker A: ents affected by the December: Speaker A: King County Elections Office,: Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:On Monday, Milwaukee crews responded to roughly 100 emergency calls for downed trees and branches.
Speaker A:The National Weather Service tallied more than 200 reports across the area.
Speaker A:The State Emergency Operations center remains elevated for ongoing April storm and flood recovery.
Speaker A:All other states and territories have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
Speaker A:That's your EM morning brief for Tuesday.
Speaker A:Stay safe.
