Today’s EM Morning Brief leads with a joint advisory from CISA, the FBI, NSA, EPA, DOE, and U.S. Cyber Command warning that Iranian-affiliated cyber actors are actively exploiting programmable logic controllers across U.S. water, energy, and government systems. Advisory AA26-097A documents confirmed operational disruptions and financial losses. NERC is actively monitoring the electric grid in response. A fragile two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran — brokered by Pakistan on April 7–8 — remains under pressure as President Trump keeps military assets in position and a dispute over Lebanon’s inclusion threatens the agreement’s scope.

On the weather front, Hawaii is experiencing its third consecutive major flooding event in three weeks, with a statewide Flood Watch in effect through Friday. Florida’s East Coast is under a Flash Flood Watch and Wind Advisory with dangerous surf conditions. Active fire weather is affecting South Carolina and Georgia. In Colorado, two wildfires near Boulder and Berthoud were both contained April 8 with no structures lost. FEMA officially designated 15 Tennessee counties as disaster areas following Winter Storm Fern. A boil water notice is active in Petal, Mississippi.

All 50 states and U.S. territories are covered.

Takeaways:

• Operators of Rockwell Automation/Allen-Bradley CompactLogix and Micro850 PLCs should restrict internet-facing access, apply available patches, and report suspicious activity to CISA or the FBI without delay.
• The domestic cyber threat posture remains elevated. The U.S.-Iran ceasefire is active but unsettled — monitor developments and lower thresholds for reporting suspicious cyber and physical security activity.
• Hawaii emergency managers should anticipate continued flooding, road closures, and potential landslides through Friday as a third consecutive storm stresses response resources statewide.
• Fire weather conditions in South Carolina and Georgia remain dangerous. Confirm current red flag and burn restriction status with state forestry commissions before authorizing any outdoor burning.
• Tennessee jurisdictions in the 15 designated counties should begin documenting eligible costs for FEMA Public Assistance. Individual Assistance determination is still pending federal review.

Sources

CISA

• CISA Advisory AA26-097A — Iranian-Affiliated Cyber Actors Exploit PLCs Across US Critical Infrastructure (April 7, 2026)

• CISA / Federal Agencies Issue Advisory on Iran-Related Cyberattacks — ABA Banking Journal

• Iran-Linked Hackers Target Water, Energy in US — Cybersecurity Dive

• Iranian Hackers Targeting American Critical Infrastructure — TechCrunch

DHS / NTAS

• DHS National Terrorism Advisory System — Official NTAS Page (note: site not updated since February 17, 2026 due to federal funding lapse)

NERC / Energy Grid

• NERC Is Actively Monitoring the Grid Following Iran-Linked Cyber Threat — Utility Dive (April 8, 2026)

US-Iran Conflict

• Iran War Live Blog, April 9, 2026 — Al Jazeera

• US-Iran Ceasefire Deal: What Are the Terms, and What’s Next? — Al Jazeera (April 8, 2026)

NIFC / Wildfire (National)

• NIFC National Fire News — National Interagency Fire Center

• Unprecedented Snow Drought Sets Up Extreme Wildfires for Western US in 2026 — Wildfire Today

NOAA / NWS

• NWS Active Alerts

• NWS Weather Prediction Center

• NWS Storm Prediction Center — Day 1 Convective Outlook

State Department / Travel Advisories

• Sao Tome and Principe — Level 3 Travel Advisory (April 8, 2026) — US Embassy Angola and Sao Tome

• US State Department Travel Advisories — travel.state.gov

Alaska

• Above-Average Spring Breakup Flooding Expected in Interior Alaska — Fairbanks News Miner

Arkansas / Oklahoma

• Severe Thunderstorms Moving Through Northeast Oklahoma — NewsOn6

• SPC Day 1 Convective Outlook — Storm Prediction Center

Colorado

• Goat Trail Fire 100% Contained — 9NEWS

• Cougar Run Fire Contained at 3.5 Acres — Larimer County

• Evacuation Orders Lifted for Boulder and Larimer County Fires — Denver Gazette

Florida

• NWS Melbourne — Flash Flood Threat

• NWS South Florida Hazardous Weather Outlook

Georgia

• Fire Danger Elevated Across North and Central Georgia April 8 — Cobb Courier

• Red Flag Warning Issued in Georgia as Dry, Windy Conditions Raise Fire Risk — CBS Atlanta

• Campfire Ban Issued for Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest — AccessWDUN

Hawaii

• Hawaii Under Statewide Flood Watch — Honolulu Star-Advertiser (April 8, 2026)

• Third Storm in Three Weeks to Unleash More Rain, Flooding in Hawaii — AccuWeather

• Hawaii Statewide Flood Watch April 2026: Visitor Travel Alert — Hawaii Guide

Mississippi

• Petal Residents Under Boil Water Notice Following Outage — WDAM (April 9, 2026)

Montana

• Holmes Fire West of Montana City Controlled, Evacuation Notice Cleared — Montana Right Now

South Carolina

• SC Forestry Commission Lifts Red Flag Fire Alert for 25 Counties — Live 5 News (April 8, 2026)

• Statewide Red Flag Fire Alert in Effect for South Carolina — WIS TV

Tennessee

• FEMA Designates 15 Tennessee Counties as Natural Disaster Areas — USDA Farm Service Agency (April 7, 2026)

• Tennessee Severe Winter Storm Disaster Declaration (DR-4898-TN) — FEMA

Texas / Plains

• Governor Abbott Activates State Emergency Response Resources for Severe Weather — TDEM (March 31, 2026)

• Severe Storms, Flooding Downpours to Focus on Plains, Midwest, Great Lakes into Easter Weekend — AccuWeather

The most urgent national security and infrastructure concern this morning centers on the ongoing U.S. israel, Iran conflict and its direct documented threat to domestic critical infrastructure.

The campaign has caused confirmed operational disruptions through tampering with PLC project files and manipulating SCADA and HMI displays, resulting in financial losses for victim organizations.

CISA urges all operators of CompactLogix and Micro 850 devices to restrict Internet facing access, apply available patches and report suspicious activity immediately to CISA or the FBI.

NERC confirmed on April 8 that its watch Operations Team is actively monitoring the electric grid, coordinating closely with the Department of Energy and the Electricity subsector coordinating council.

NERC's public statement amplifies the federal advisory and encourages industry to lower thresholds for sharing suspicious cyber or physical security activity.

Grid operators across all regions should treat this as an elevated operational period.

On the diplomatic front, the United States and Iran agreed to a fragile two week ceasefire on April 7 to 8 brokered by Pakistan.

As of this morning, President Trump has stated that all US Ships, aircraft and military personnel will remain in position around Iran until the agreement is fully complied with, with warnings of renewed military action otherwise.

A significant dispute over whether the ceasefire covers Lebanon has added uncertainty to the overall security picture.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated it does not extend to Hezbollah or southern Lebanon directly contradicting the Pakistani broker's announcement.

Lebanon declared a national day of mourning following Israeli strikes on April 8 that killed more than 200 and injured more than 1,000.

US emergency managers.

Law enforcement and critical infrastructure operators should remain at heightened vigilance given ongoing geopolitical volatility and the documented Iranian cyber campaign.

No current NTAS advisory could be verified through official channels as of this morning.

Operators should monitor dhs.gov for any new advisories as the situation evolves.

On the weather front, a broad and active severe weather pattern is taking shape across the south and Midwest through this Easter weekend.

NWS forecasters have issued a flash flood watch for Florida's east coast from Volusia to Miami Dade Counties with a wind advisory and dangerous surf on the Atlantic coastline.

Hawaii is now experiencing its third consecutive major flooding event in three weeks with a statewide flood watch in effect and flash flood warnings active as a deepening low pressure system approaches from the Northwest.

Across the south central US A multi day severe storm corridor from the Southern Plains through Arkansas, Missouri and the Great Lakes carries tornado damaging wind and hail potential through the weekend.

NIFC reports the national preparedness level at 2 of 5 with 24 active large incidents and 17,006 wildfires ignited year to date, 231% of the prior 10 year average.

An unprecedented snow drought across the western US combined with record early spring heat across Arizona, New Mexico and the Pacific Northwest is sustaining critical fire weather conditions in the Southeast and Southwest simultaneously.

South Carolina's red flag fire alert is partially lifted but remains active for the majority of the state.

Georgia remains under red flag warnings and fire danger statements today.

The State Department elevated Sao Tome and Principe to a level three travel advisory on April 8th citing risk of unrest and health concerns.

Americans in the country or planning travel there are advised to reconsider.

Let's run through the States the NWS Alaska Pacific River Forecast center projects above average spring breakup flooding potential for April with the Yukon River, Tanana river and Lower Kuskokwim river as primary areas of concern.

Contributing factors include above average snowpack, thick river ice and high freeze up stages across multiple interior locations.

Weekly flood watches and daily river watch flights are in effect for communities along the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers.

Residents in flood prone communities are urged to monitor NWS Alaska for updates.

Arkansas NWS issued a tornado warning in the early morning hours of April 9 for portions of Crawford, Sebastian and Franklin counties in Arkansas and southeastern Sequoia county in Oklahoma as a severe squall line moved through the region.

Residents in affected areas should monitor local NWS alerts.

The broader multi day severe weather pattern including heavy rainfall and flash flooding potential is expected to persist through this weekend.

Colorado Two early season wildfires ignited in northern Colorado on April 8 and are both now 100% contained.

The goat Trail Fire in the Sanitas Valley area of Boulder, estimated at just under two acres, prompted temporary evacuation warnings in north Boulder before being fully contained by mid morning.

All warnings were lifted by early afternoon.

Fire officials note that fuels are fully cured, snowpack is well below normal and red flag conditions are arriving earlier than usual for the Front Range.

Florida NWS has issued a flash flood watch for the Atlantic coast from Volusia county to Miami Dade county with localized rainfall totals of 3 to 5 inches possible as a stalled frontal boundary focuses moisture along the East Coast.

A wind advisory is in effect through tonight for coastal northeast and east central Florida with gusts of 40 to 45 miles per hour.

The I95 corridor faces elevated urban flooding risk as additional rounds of heavy rainfall are expected through Thursday.

Fire weather concerns persist in the Florida panhandle.

Georgia the Georgia Forestry Commission and NWS issued a red flag warning through Wednesday evening, April 8 for areas south and east of Macon with a fire danger statement in place for all of North Georgia.

Gusty winds, relative humidity below 25% and dry fuels driven by ongoing drought are elevating wildfire spread risk across north and central Georgia.

A campfire ban is in effect for the Chattahoochee Oconee National Forest.

No burn days are in effect for some counties.

Residents are urged to avoid all outdoor burning.

Hawaii A statewide flood watch is in effect from Wednesday morning through Friday afternoon.

This is Hawaii's third consecutive major rain and flooding event in three weeks.

A deepening low pressure system northwest of the islands is pulling deep tropical moisture northward and increasing instability.

Statewide flash flood warnings have been active for East Maui and the Big Islands Puna and Khao districts with rain falling at rates of 1 to 3 inches per hour.

Hana on Maui has received 7 inches in the current event.

Pahoa on the Big island has seen 6 inches.

A high surf advisory is in effect for south facing shores of all Hawaiian islands with breaking waves of 7 to 10ft and occasional 12 foot sets.

Road closures, stream overflow and landslides are possible in steep terrain.

Visitors and residents should avoid all flood prone areas and low lying coastal zones.

Mississippi residents on West Ninth and West 10th avenues in Petal, including Bedford Care and Caritas Manor are under a boilwater notice following a service outage.

Officials advise that the advisory remains in effect until the system is restored and repressurized.

All water for drinking, cooking and oral hygiene should be boiled vigorously for one minute.

Montana the home's fire near Montana City in Jefferson county is fully controlled.

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office cleared all evacuation notices for residents near Ski High Road.

DNRC helicopters assisted in the response.

No injuries or structural losses were reported.

NWS issued a severe thunderstorm watch for Green country northeast Oklahoma through the overnight with damaging winds and isolated large hail as the primary hazards and a tornado or two possible.

A tornado warning was also active for southeastern Sequoia county as a squall line moved through the area in the early morning hours.

Residents should stay weather aware and monitor NWS Tulsa for ongoing updates.

The South Carolina Forestry Commission issued a statewide red flag fire alert on April 8 due to widespread rain deficit, severe drought, gusty winds and low humidity.

As of April 9, the alert has been lifted for 25 counties as conditions began to moderate, but it remains in effect for the remaining counties statewide.

Residents are strongly urged to postpone all outdoor burning until the alert is fully lifted.

Designated counties are Cheatham, Chester, Clay, Davidson, Hardin, Henderson, Hickman, Lewis, Macon, McNary, Perry, Sumner, Trousdale, Wayne and Williamson.

FEMA public assistance covers eligible local governments and certain private nonprofits for response and recovery costs.

Individual assistance remains under federal review.

All other states have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.

Stay safe.