Latest / EM Morning Brief / Nor'easter closes NC 12 and floods Hatteras; Arizona under multi-day flash flood watch; Alaska hit by Interior snow and a Panhandle atmospheric river

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Nor'easter closes NC 12 and floods Hatteras; Arizona under multi-day flash flood watch; Alaska hit by Interior snow and a Panhandle atmospheric river · EM Morning Brief

• 0:00
  Cedric: Good morning, I'm Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Tuesday, October 20, 2026.
• 0:06
  Cedric: A slow moving nor'easter off the Carolinas is driving the day's highest impact event.
• 0:12
  Cedric: The National Weather Service in Newport has a Coastal Flood Warning up for Hatteras Island and Ocracoke Island until 8 p.m.
• 0:18
  Cedric: Wednesday, with 2 to 4 feet of inundation above ground level near shorelines and tidal waterways, numerous road closures possible, and flooding reaching inland from the waterfront to homes and businesses.
• 0:33
  Cedric: Breaking waves run 9 to 13 feet off Hatteras.
• 0:37
  Cedric: The National Hurricane Center is tracking the storm force low a few hundred miles off the North Carolina coast and puts its chance of becoming a subtropical or tropical system at 30 percent through 48 hours, while noting that high
• 0:51
  Cedric: winds, coastal flooding and dangerous surf are expected along portions of the East Coast regardless of what the system is called.
• 1:00
  Cedric: The second event is a multi day flash flood threat across Arizona.
• 1:04
  Cedric: Weather Service offices in Flagstaff, Phoenix and Tucson have Flood Watches in effect from late tonight through Thursday evening, covering all of northern and central Arizona, metro Phoenix and southeast Arizona.
• 1:17
  Cedric: Forecasters cite an upper level trough pulling a deep surge of subtropical and tropical moisture into the region, with localized rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour and flash flooding possible in dry washes, low water crossings and
• 1:32
  Cedric: over recently burned areas.
• 1:35
  Cedric: The remnant moisture of Post Tropical Cyclone Trudy is feeding the surge.
• 1:39
  Cedric: On the federal side, the State Department updated two travel advisories on Monday.
• 1:44
  Cedric: Kenya moves up to Level 3, Reconsider Travel, citing health risk alongside crime, kidnapping, terrorism and unrest, and pointing to a CDC travel health notice for Ebola Bundibugyo virus disease.
• 1:56
  Cedric: China stays at Level 2, Exercise Increased Caution, with the Department restating that Americans face a serious risk of wrongful detention and that exit bans are applied without a fair or transparent process.
• 2:10
  Cedric: Let's run through the states.
• 2:12
  Cedric: Alaska.
• 2:13
  Cedric: Two systems are working the state at once.
• 2:16
  Cedric: The Weather Service in Fairbanks has Winter Storm Warnings across the Interior, with 24 to 36 inches of snow expected above 2,500 feet in the Eastern Alaska Range through 4 a.m.
• 2:27
  Cedric: Thursday, 6 to 12 inches for Delta Junction, Fortymile Country and the Upper Tanana Valley, and 5 to 10 inches around Eielson Air Force Base, Salcha, Two Rivers, the Upper Chena River Valley and the southern Yukon Flats.
• 2:43
  Cedric: Gusts to 35 mph will drive blowing snow and cut visibility.
• 2:48
  Cedric: In the Panhandle, an atmospheric river parked over Yakutat has Juneau, Gustavus and Glacier Bay under a Flood Watch through late tonight, with significant river rises expected.
• 2:58
  Cedric: Skagway is under a High Wind Warning until 10 p.m., with south winds of 30 to 40 mph gusting to 65 and power outages expected.
• 3:08
  Cedric: At Great Sitkin, the Alaska Volcano Observatory holds the aviation color code at orange and the alert level at watch, with lava continuing to erupt slowly within the summit crater.
• 3:19
  Cedric: Arizona.
• 3:21
  Cedric: The statewide Flood Watch package is the operational story.
• 3:25
  Cedric: Flagstaff's watch covers all of northern and central Arizona from late tonight through Thursday evening and flags flash flooding in creeks, normally dry washes, swimming holes and recent burn scars, with low water crossings likely to flood.
• 3:40
  Cedric: Phoenix has south central Arizona under a watch from Wednesday evening through Thursday afternoon, naming central Phoenix, North Phoenix and Glendale, Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, the East Valley, Buckeye and Avondale, and west Pinal County.
• 3:55
  Cedric: Tucson's watch runs from late Wednesday morning through Thursday evening for the Upper Gila River and Aravaipa valleys, southeast Pinal County and the Galiuro and Pinaleno mountains, with Thursday carrying the higher potential for the heaviest rainfall rates.
• 4:11
  Cedric: North Carolina.
• 4:13
  Cedric: The North Carolina Department of Transportation closed NC 12 from the Marc Basnight Bridge to Rodanthe on Monday evening for unsafe highway conditions, after roughly 800 feet of dune eroded at the Pea Island Visitor Center and overwash pushed across
• 4:28
  Cedric: the road.
• 4:29
  Cedric: Crews worked until dark without being able to hold the dune and return Tuesday morning to reassess.
• 4:36
  Cedric: NC 12 remains open on Ocracoke Island, though the Weather Service warns that vulnerable sections may be inundated around high tide.
• 4:44
  Cedric: The mandatory evacuation for Hatteras Island visitors stays in place.
• 4:49
  Cedric: A Wind Advisory covers the northern Outer Banks, Hatteras and Ocracoke through midnight, and Beach Hazards Statements flag dangerous rip currents and strong longshore currents along the whole coast.
• 5:01
  Cedric: We have more to cover this morning, but first, a quick word from our sponsors.
• 5:07
  Cedric: Thanks for supporting our sponsors who help make EM Morning Brief possible.
• 5:11
  Cedric: Now, back to this morning’s updates.
• 5:14
  Cedric: California.
• 5:15
  Cedric: Cal Fire reports the Cooley Fire in Mendocino County at 1,365 acres and 45 percent containment as of Monday evening, up from 731 acres in last week's national situation report.
• 5:28
  Cedric: It is the only active California incident still gaining ground.
• 5:32
  Cedric: Florida.
• 5:34
  Cedric: The Weather Service in Melbourne has a Flood Warning for the St.
• 5:36
  Cedric: Johns River near Astor, affecting Volusia and Lake counties, where persistent northeast winds have pushed the river into moderate flood stage.
• 5:46
  Cedric: The river is forecast to climb slowly through the end of the week, with potential to approach major flood stage next week as northeasterly winds increase again.
• 5:55
  Cedric: At that level, canals overflow into yards and homes along the river and canals take on several inches of water.
• 6:04
  Cedric: Separately, the Governor's office announced Monday that the state has requested a Major Disaster Declaration for Hurricane Isaias, seeking Public Assistance for 15 counties and Individual Assistance for eight, and that nearly 300 households have applied for temporary travel trailers
• 6:21
  Cedric: through a state partnership with the nonprofit Emergency RV.
• 6:25
  Cedric: Eight first responders in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties received one time $5,000 grants from the Florida Disaster Fund.
• 6:34
  Cedric: Kentucky.
• 6:36
  Cedric: Estill County emergency management is warning residents that 911 calls may not route correctly because of technical difficulties, and has published alternate landline and cell numbers for emergencies.
• 6:47
  Cedric: Texting 911 also works.
• 6:50
  Cedric: Officials describe the larger problem as disrupted communication between landlines and cell phones countywide.
• 6:57
  Cedric: Clay County reports line damage and theft affecting service, and Rockcastle County reports a water outage on its western side.
• 7:05
  Cedric: New Hampshire.
• 7:07
  Cedric: The Small Business Administration published disaster loan deadlines Tuesday for the Public Assistance declaration covering the June 10 to 11 severe storm and flooding in Carroll County.
• 7:19
  Cedric: Applications for physical damage loans are due December 7, and economic injury applications are due July 7, 2027.
• 7:28
  Cedric: Eligible private nonprofits providing essential governmental services apply through the MySBA Loan Portal.
• 7:34
  Cedric: Virginia.
• 7:36
  Cedric: Coastal Flood Advisories from the Weather Service in Wakefield cover Hampton Roads, the middle peninsula and the Eastern Shore through Thursday, with High Surf Advisories for Virginia Beach and eastern Currituck.
• 7:49
  Cedric: A Low Water Advisory is also up for Currituck Sound through Wednesday evening, where sustained winds are pushing water out of the sound and may leave shallow draft vessels aground.
• 8:00
  Cedric: Georgia.
• 8:02
  Cedric: The Weather Service in Jacksonville holds a Flood Warning for the Satilla River at Atkinson in Brantley County, where the stage sits at 14.2 feet against a 13 foot flood stage, and forecasters in Peachtree City warn of high fire
• 8:15
  Cedric: danger as humidity drops below 30 percent across central Georgia.
• 8:21
  Cedric: Maryland.
• 8:22
  Cedric: Coastal Flood Advisories and a High Surf Advisory cover the Maryland beaches, Accomack, Northampton and inland Worcester County through Thursday morning as the nor'easter keeps piling water against the coast.
• 8:35
  Cedric: Pennsylvania.
• 8:36
  Cedric: The Department of Environmental Protection issued a code orange air quality alert for the Mon Valley for Tuesday, meaning pollution concentrations may reach levels unhealthy for sensitive groups including children, older adults and people with asthma or heart and lung
• 8:51
  Cedric: disease.
• 8:52
  Cedric: Guam.
• 8:53
  Cedric: The Joint Information Center's fourth recovery release since Super Typhoon Champi reports that all critical substations and transmission lines are energized and that generation capacity is sufficient to meet demand.
• 9:05
  Cedric: Guam Power Authority crews are working remaining distribution feeders island wide, including Hagat, Santa Rita-Sumai, Malesso, Piti, Sinajana and Dededo along Route 16, and isolated pockets may stay dark until adjacent feeders come back.
• 9:21
  Cedric: A green waste debris site jointly run by Public Works and the Environmental Protection Agency opens Wednesday at 8 a.m.
• 9:28
  Cedric: at Ypao Point in Tamuning, taking trees, branches, trunks and yard waste only, with the last vehicle admitted at 3:30 p.m.
• 9:38
  Cedric: Public health services remain limited, and the Northern Region Community Health Center is closed until further notice, which also affects the Dededo WIC office and the Bureau of Economic Security office there.
• 9:50
  Cedric: Northern Mariana Islands.
• 9:53
  Cedric: The Commonwealth Utilities Corporation issued a public advisory Tuesday morning for an emergency power service interruption on Rota.
• 10:01
  Cedric: That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
• 10:03
  Cedric: New episodes drop Monday through Friday in the 5:00 AM hour P.T., so the day starts with clarity instead of catch-up.
• 10:10
  Cedric: Follow on your favorite podcast player.
• 10:12
  Cedric: EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.
• 10:15
  Cedric: Stay Safe.