Episode 172
Tornado Emergency strikes south-central Nebraska; Minnesota Governor declares peacetime emergency as Flanders and Stewart Trail fires
Today’s brief covers a fast-moving severe weather episode across the central Plains and Upper Midwest, the Storm Prediction Center’s Moderate Risk for Monday across central Kansas into southeastern Nebraska, Minnesota’s peacetime emergency for active wildfires near Crosslake and Two Harbors, continuing wildfire activity in the Texas Panhandle and on the Cibola National Forest, and red flag conditions across the desert Southwest. National Hurricane Center forecasters report no tropical development expected over the next seven days, and DHS lists no active National Terrorism Advisory System bulletins. 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
• Plains severe weather. A Tornado Emergency was issued Sunday evening for Hebron, Nebraska and surrounding areas, with a major tornado near Palmer and two homes destroyed near St. Libory. The Storm Prediction Center has a Moderate Risk in place for Monday across central and northeastern Kansas into southeastern Nebraska.
• Minnesota wildfires. Governor Tim Walz declared a peacetime emergency and mobilized the National Guard. The Flanders Fire near Crosslake is at roughly 1,600 to 1,700 acres at 20 percent containment with evacuations in place, and the Stewart Trail Fire near Two Harbors is at 355 acres at 30 percent containment with 34 structures lost and Highway 61 closed.
• Texas Panhandle fires. The Hunggate and Chocolate Chip fires have merged at roughly 17,300 acres with 40 percent containment in Randall County. Mandatory evacuations were lifted Saturday night, and a voluntary evacuation was issued Sunday for parts of the Amarillo area.
• New Mexico. The Six Mile Fire on the Cibola National Forest is at 341 acres and 84 percent containment with management transitioning back to the local unit Monday at 6 p.m.
• Desert Southwest fire weather. Red flag warnings remain across the Navajo Nation and northern Arizona; the Bronco Fire near Cave Creek is at 100 acres and 50 percent containment.
• National fire posture. NIFC reports national Preparedness Level 2 with multiple uncontained large fires nationwide. Year to date, the U.S. has logged more than 26,000 fires and roughly 1.9 million acres burned, above the 10-year average.
• Tropics. The National Hurricane Center reports no tropical cyclone formation expected over the next seven days across the Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf.
• Aviation operations. The FAA’s new daily operations cap at Chicago O’Hare took effect Sunday, limiting the airport to 2,708 daily operations to reduce systemic delays during peak weather. Operators should expect schedule adjustments at ORD.
• Cyber and homeland security. DHS lists no active National Terrorism Advisory System bulletins. The CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog continues to track active exploitation; the latest catalog updates remain available for review.
Links
Sponsors
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Sources
NOAA, NWS and the Storm Prediction Center
• Storm Prediction Center Current Watches
• NWS Watch, Warning, Advisory Map
• NWS Active Red Flag Warnings
National Hurricane Center
• NHC Atlantic Tropical Weather Outlook — no tropical development expected next 7 days
NIFC and InciWeb
• NIFC National Fire News — current fire situation
• NICC Incident Management Situation Report (IMSR), May 17, 2026
• InciWeb Incident Information System
FEMA
• FEMA Disasters and Other Declarations
DHS and CISA
• DHS National Terrorism Advisory System — no current advisories
• CISA Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog
USGS
• USGS Significant Earthquakes — 2026
State Department, CDC and Public Health
• U.S. State Department Travel Advisories
• CDC Health Alert Network (HAN) Archive
• CDC HAN — 2026 Multi-country Hantavirus Cluster Linked to Cruise Ship
FAA
• FAA National Airspace System Status
• FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center Advisories
Arizona
• Navajo Times — Red flag warnings issued for Navajo Nation, northern Arizona
• FOX 10 Phoenix — Bronco Fire burns 100 acres near Cave Creek
Colorado
• CBS Colorado — Evacuations ordered in Campo as wildfire crosses state line
• 9News — Colorado doubles Red Flag Warnings days so far in 2026
Illinois
• Weather.com — Plains Severe Weather Outbreak live updates
Iowa
• Storm Prediction Center Day 1 Outlook — May 17, 2026
• Weather.com — Plains Severe Weather Outbreak live updates
Kansas
• The Watchers — SPC issues Moderate Risk for Kansas and Nebraska, May 17, 2026
• SPC Day 2 Convective Outlook
Michigan
• City of Auburn Hills — State of Emergency, water main break and boil water advisory
• Orion Township — Boil water advisory lifted
Minnesota
• KARE 11 — Governor Walz declares peacetime emergency as wildfires threaten northern Minnesota
• MPR News — Crews continue battling Flanders Fire in Crow Wing County
• MPR News — More than 30 buildings burned by Stewart Trail Fire near Two Harbors
• Lake County, MN — Stewart Trail Fire update May 17, 2026
Nebraska
• KSNB Local 4 — Howard County EM confirms two homes destroyed by tornado near St. Libory
• BNO News — Strong tornado leaves damage in rural Nebraska
• CNN — Rare high-end tornado threat issued for central US
New Mexico
• NM Fire Info — Six Mile Fire Morning Update, May 17, 2026
• U.S. Forest Service, Cibola NF — Six Mile Fire updates
Oklahoma
• The Watchers — Multiple wildfires trigger evacuations across northern Texas and New Mexico
• ABC 7 Amarillo — Multiple wildfires burning in TX and OK panhandles, eastern NM
South Dakota
• Weather.com — Plains Severe Weather Outbreak live updates
• SPC Day 1 Convective Outlook
Texas
• ABC 7 Amarillo — Mandatory evacuations lifted in Randall County and Canyon
• NewsChannel 10 — Latest information on over 25 fires across the area
• AccuWeather — Lightning-sparked Texas wildfire destroys buildings, damages railroad
• Texas A&M Forest Service — Current Wildfire Status
Wisconsin
Transcript
Good morning.
Speaker A: ,: Speaker A:A multi day severe weather event continued across the Central Plains and upper Midwest Sunday with the National Weather Service declaring a tornado emergency for Hebron, Nebraska.
Speaker A:A confirmed strong tornado near Palmer and reports of homes destroyed near St. Liborie in Howard County.
Speaker A:The Storm Prediction center now carries A moderate risk level 4 of 5 for Monday across central and northeastern Kansas into southeastern Nebraska with strong to intense tornadoes and giant hail of 2 to 4 inches in diameter possible along and east of the dryline.
Speaker A:Additional severe storms are expected across southwestern Iowa and northwestern Missouri.
Speaker A:Emergency managers in the corridor are advising the public to plan for multiple ways to receive warnings and to identify safe shelter before storms arrive.
Speaker A:Wildfire activity remains elevated.
Speaker A:The National Interagency Fire center reports a national preparedness level of 2 with multiple uncontained large fires nationwide.
Speaker A: ear Cross Lake Gre to roughly: Speaker A:In the Texas Panhandle, the Hungate and Chocolate Chip fires have merged at roughly 17,300 acres with 40% containment and the Amarillo Area Emergency Management Office issued a precautionary voluntary evacuation Sunday for parts of southwest Randall County.
Speaker A:On the Cibola National Forest in New Mexico, the Six Mile Fire stands at 341 acres with 84% containment, with management transitioning back to the local unit Monday evening.
Speaker A:Red flag warnings remain in effect across the Navajo Nation, northern Arizona and parts of southeastern Colorado across the rest of the national picture.
Speaker A:The National Hurricane center reports no tropical cyclone formation expected over the next seven days for the Atlantic, Caribbean or Gulf.
Speaker A:The U.S. geological Survey reports no significant domestic seismic activity in the last 24 hours.
Speaker A:The Department of Homeland Security lists no active National Terrorism Advisory System bulletins.
Speaker A:CISA continues to maintain its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog as a primary patch prioritization reference for critical infrastructure operators at Chicago O'.
Speaker A:Hare.
Speaker A: s new daily operations cap of: Speaker A:A structural change operators should plan around as severe weather pushes air traffic east.
Speaker A:Let's run through the states Arizona Red flag warnings remained in effect Sunday across large portions of northern Arizona and the Navajo Nation, with southwest winds 20 to 30 mph, gust to 50 mph and relative humidity as low as 8 to 16%.
Speaker A:Crews continued working the Bronco fire in the Tonto National Forest near Cave Creek, which is at roughly 100 acres with 50% containment.
Speaker A:The storm Prediction center continues to flag elevated fire weather concerns across the region heading into Monday.
Speaker A:Colorado Crews responded to a fast moving wildfire that crossed into Campo from across the state line, prompting evacuations in southeastern Colorado.
Speaker A:Los Animas and Baca counties remained under a fire weather watch into Monday evening with southeastern Colorado under a red flag warning for strong winds and very low humidity.
Speaker A: d flag warning days so far in: Speaker A:Illinois the National Weather Service reported multiple tornado warnings across northern Illinois during Sunday afternoon and evening as the Central Plains severe weather tracked east.
Speaker A:Local officials urged residents in the warning corridor to remain weather aware as additional rounds of severe storms are expected Monday.
Speaker A:Iowa Tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings cycled across western and southern Iowa Sunday evening as the Plains outbreak shifted east.
Speaker A:The Storm Prediction center keeps southwestern Iowa under an enhanced threat for severe storms Monday with damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes possible.
Speaker A:Emergency managers across the affected counties continued to assess storm damage Sunday night into Monday morning.
Speaker A:Kansas the Storm Prediction center placed central and northeastern Kansas under a moderate risk level 4 of 5 for severe thunderstorms Monday.
Speaker A:Forecasters warn of strong to intense tornadoes and giant hail of 2 to 4 inches in diameter, primarily along and east of the dryline.
Speaker A:State and local emergency managers are pre positioning resources and urging residents to review shelter plans and keep multiple ways to receive warnings.
Speaker A:Michigan the City of Auburn Hills continued recovery from a major Great Lakes Water Authority 42 inch transmission main break that began May 10th.
Speaker A:Crews are completing system flushing and water quality verification.
Speaker A:Residents in affected communities should follow local utility guidance for any remaining service advisories.
Speaker A:Minnesota governor Tim Walls declared a peacetime emergency and mobilized the Minnesota National Guard to support the wildfire response as multiple fires burn across Lake, crow Wing and St. Louis counties.
Speaker A:The order remains in effect until conditions improve or June 7th near Cross Lake.
Speaker A: to: Speaker A:The Stuart Trail fire is at 355 acres with 30% containment and and 34 structures including eight primary buildings have been lost.
Speaker A:U.S. highway 61 remains closed at County Highway 2 in Two Harbors and at County Highway 106 in Castle.
Speaker A: areas covering approximately: Speaker A:A major tornado also struck near Palmer where storm chasers reported significant damage and rescues from at least one home.
Speaker A:Howard County Emergency Management confirmed two homes near St. Libori were destroyed by a separate tornado earlier Sunday evening, damaging hail to 3.5inches and widespread wind damage were reported across the eastern half of the state with power outages affecting thousands in some areas.
Speaker A:The Storm Prediction center keeps southeastern Nebraska under a moderate risk for severe storms Monday.
Speaker A:New Mexico the six Mile Fire on the Magdalena Ranger District of the Cibola national forest is at 341 acres with 84% containment.
Speaker A:There are no evacuations in place and management is scheduled to transition back to the local unit on the Cibola at 6pm Monday.
Speaker A:Crews are completing contingency line preparation and beginning suppression repair in areas no longer threatened by active fire behavior.
Speaker A:Red flag conditions continue across the eastern half of the state.
Speaker A:Oklahoma Wildfire activity continued across the Oklahoma Panhandle as a multi state grass and brush fire complex burned along the Texas and New Mexico borders.
Speaker A:Red flag conditions and dry thunderstorms are forecast to keep new fire starts a concern through Monday.
Speaker A:Local emergency managers are coordinating with Texas A and M Forest Service and New Mexico Partners on cross border response.
Speaker A:South Dakota Severe storms produced tornado warnings and damaging winds across portions of southeastern South Dakota Sunday afternoon and evening.
Speaker A:Near Tripp, a severe storm damaged outbuildings on a farm and flipped a camper.
Speaker A:Power outages were reported near the Nebraska border.
Speaker A:The Storm Prediction center keeps a slight to enhanced risk for severe storms in place across the southern half of the state on Monday.
Speaker A:Texas Wildfire activity continued across the Panhandle.
Speaker A:In Randall county, the Hungate Fire merged with the Chocolate Chip Fire and grew to roughly 17,300 acres with 40% containment, destroying three homes, several outbuildings and a historic railroad trestle bridge.
Speaker A:Mandatory evacuations issued Saturday in Randall county and the city of Canyon were lifted later that night.
Speaker A:On Sunday, the Amarillo Area Office of Emergency Management issued a voluntary evacuation for residents of Two Deer Trail, Bishop Estates and Quail Canyon as new fire activity prompted precautionary action.
Speaker A:Xcel Energy reported localized outages affecting roughly 4,500 customers during the height of the fire.
Speaker A:Weather eventually Wisconsin the National Weather Service issued multiple tornado warnings across western and central Wisconsin Sunday afternoon and evening with storm reports of damaged barns near Hayton and Chilton.
Speaker A:Severe storms are again possible Monday across the southern half of the state as the Central Plains storm system tracks eastward.
Speaker A:All other states and territories have no significant updates in the last 24 hours.
Speaker A:That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
Speaker A:New episodes drop Monday through Friday in the 5am hour PT, so the day starts with clarity instead of catch up.
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Speaker A:EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices podcast.
Speaker A:Stay safe.
