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Hurricane Polo Drives Major Flash Flood Crisis Across 11 States · EM Morning Brief

• 0:00
  Cedric: Good morning, I'm Cedric and this is your EM Morning Brief for Tuesday, September 29, 2026.
• 0:06
  Cedric: Hurricane Polo's moisture plume is driving the country's largest life safety problem this morning.
• 0:12
  Cedric: Polo came ashore south of Las Barrancas in Baja California Sur late Monday night as a Category 2 hurricane, and its remnants are feeding a flash flood event that runs from the lower Colorado River across the Four Corners and
• 0:26
  Cedric: into the southern High Plains.
• 0:29
  Cedric: The Weather Prediction Center carries a moderate risk of excessive rainfall today from south central Arizona through the Texas Panhandle and western Kansas, with a slight risk reaching the Central Plains and southern Minnesota.
• 0:42
  Cedric: Flood watches cover 11 states, including most of Arizona and New Mexico plus parts of Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa and Texas, and forecasters place roughly 14 million people in the flash flood threat area.
• 0:57
  Cedric: Overnight warnings ran in four states at once, with road impacts confirmed in California, Nevada, Arizona and Utah.
• 1:05
  Cedric: In the Pacific, Hurricane Nolo is a Category 3 storm with 115 mile per hour winds, centered about 300 miles south southeast of French Frigate Shoals and moving north northwest at 15 miles per hour.
• 1:20
  Cedric: The Central Pacific Hurricane Center holds a Hurricane Warning for the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument from Nihoa to French Frigate Shoals, where large waves are expected to inundate low lying atolls.
• 1:33
  Cedric: Outer bands east of the track will drop 3 to 6 inches of rain on Kauai and Niihau from today into Thursday, with flooding and mudslides possible in steep terrain.
• 1:44
  Cedric: On the federal and state policy side, Governor Greg Abbott issued a statewide disaster declaration in Texas over diesel supply and price, opening dyed off road diesel for use on public roads and suspending state low emission diesel standards to
• 1:58
  Cedric: federal limits.
• 2:00
  Cedric: Let's run through the states.
• 2:02
  Cedric: Alaska.
• 2:03
  Cedric: The Alaska Volcano Observatory issues a volcano notice keeping Great Sitkin at Volcano Alert Level Watch and Aviation Color Code Orange, with slow lava effusion continuing inside the summit crater.
• 2:15
  Cedric: The same notice keeps Shishaldin at Advisory and Yellow, citing low level unrest, elevated seismicity and satellite detected sulfur dioxide emissions.
• 2:25
  Cedric: Aviation and marine operators in the Aleutians should plan against both color codes.
• 2:30
  Cedric: Arizona.
• 2:32
  Cedric: The National Weather Service in Flagstaff issues a Flash Flood Warning for Yavapai County at 3:27 this morning after the Granite Creek gauge near Prescott records a rapid four foot rise.
• 2:42
  Cedric: Named impact areas include Prescott, Chino Valley, Prescott Regional Airport, Watson Lake, State Route 69 and State Route 89.
• 2:51
  Cedric: Ten minutes later the same office warns Coconino County after a Paria River gauge upstream in Utah rises 4.47 feet and sends the flood wave toward Paria Canyon, Vermilion Cliffs National Monument and Lees Ferry.
• 3:07
  Cedric: Through Monday afternoon and evening the Las Vegas office ran a repeating series of flash flood warnings for west central Mohave County, reporting 1 to 1.5 inches of rain in 30 to 45 minutes over Laughlin and Golden Valley before
• 3:21
  Cedric: storms moved into the Kingman metro.
• 3:24
  Cedric: That threat ended just before midnight, and the office advises the public to keep heeding road closures still in place.
• 3:31
  Cedric: California.
• 3:33
  Cedric: The San Diego office issues a Flash Flood Warning for Riverside County Monday evening, and its follow up statement just after midnight reports mud, rocks and boulders covering parts of Dillon Road near and northwest of Indio Hills, with radar
• 3:47
  Cedric: estimated rainfall above two inches.
• 3:50
  Cedric: In San Bernardino County, the California Highway Patrol reports flooding on the roadway of US 95 north of Goffs, and further warnings cover Interstate 40 between Amboy and Goffs and the Chemehuevi Wash crossing of US 95.
• 4:05
  Cedric: In the Sierra, the Dome Fire in Mariposa County stands at 5,291 acres and 31 percent containment under a National Park Service jurisdiction, with the Chilnualna Falls Trail and areas near the fire closed while Yosemite National Park stays open.
• 4:22
  Cedric: Connecticut.
• 4:23
  Cedric: Eversource and United Illuminating report restoring service to more than 171,000 customers since the weekend nor'easter began, with 2,597 Fairfield County customers still out and crews clearing more than 350 blocked roads.
• 4:39
  Cedric: Hawaii.
• 4:40
  Cedric: Kauai County is the focus today as Nolo's outer bands arrive, with 3 to 6 inches of rain forecast through Thursday and dangerous surf along south and west facing shores.
• 4:51
  Cedric: The county keeps hurricane resource centers open at the Hanalei and Koloa neighborhood centers weekdays from 9 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon, and Salt Pond park facilities, the Kaumakani pavilion and Hanapepe Stadium facilities stay closed.
• 5:07
  Cedric: On Maui, the Maui Emergency Management Agency lifted the Olowalu Village evacuation order at 5:45 Monday morning, covering residents from Luawai Street to Ehehene Street, after the Olowalu brush fire reached 95 percent containment at more than 100 acres.
• 5:24
  Cedric: Hawaiian Electric began phased restoration at 11:30 that morning for roughly 10,000 West Maui customers who lost power when storm damage struck transmission lines above Papalaua Wayside Park, and reported all major storm damage outages restored by 1:30 in the
• 5:41
  Cedric: afternoon.
• 5:43
  Cedric: The county closed the Lahaina Civic Center Gym shelter at 4 p.m.
• 5:47
  Cedric: Monday.
• 5:49
  Cedric: Hawaii County resumes normal operations.
• 5:52
  Cedric: Three county shelters close, public schools and the University of Hawaii at Hilo reopen, and Hawaiian Electric restores about 660 customers.
• 6:01
  Cedric: Kohala Mountain Road stays closed for high winds, state parks stay closed, and an essential water use only notice stays in effect for Naalehu, Waiohinu, Discovery Harbour and South Point.
• 6:13
  Cedric: We have more to cover this morning, but first, a quick word from our sponsors.
• 6:18
  Cedric: Thanks for supporting our sponsors who help make EM Morning Brief possible.
• 6:22
  Cedric: Now, back to this morning’s updates.
• 6:25
  Cedric: Illinois.
• 6:27
  Cedric: The Chicago office upgrades observed flooding on the Des Plaines River near Russell in Lake County from minor to moderate, with the stage at 7.6 feet against a 7.0 foot flood stage and a warning running into Thursday evening.
• 6:41
  Cedric: Indiana.
• 6:41
  Cedric: FEMA reports more than 111 million dollars approved in Individual Assistance under the DR-4933 declaration, reaching more than 26,800 households, with the Individual Assistance application deadline set for October 25 and the Public Assistance deadline for designated municipalities set for
• 7:00
  Cedric: October 24.
• 7:02
  Cedric: A recovery one stop shop opened Monday in Gary and runs through Friday.
• 7:07
  Cedric: Iowa.
• 7:09
  Cedric: The Quad Cities office continues a Flood Warning on the Wapsipinicon River near De Witt, with moderate flooding occurring at 12.2 feet against an 11.0 foot flood stage and overbank flooding affecting residences between Wheatland and Calamus.
• 7:25
  Cedric: Kansas.
• 7:25
  Cedric: The Kansas Department of Health and Environment expands the Eskridge boil water advisory in Wabaunsee County from a four block area to the entire city after finding the loss of distribution pressure more widespread than first reported.
• 7:39
  Cedric: The cause is an equipment failure in the water system control system, and the advisory stays in effect until certified laboratory testing confirms the water is safe.
• 7:51
  Cedric: Michigan.
• 7:52
  Cedric: A 10 inch water main break shuts off water to the Village of Constantine at about 8:30 Monday morning, and a gas line rupture at the repair site delays the work.
• 8:02
  Cedric: Service returns about 12:45 in the afternoon, a boil water advisory remains in effect until further notice, and Constantine Public Schools cancelled classes for the day.
• 8:14
  Cedric: Nevada.
• 8:15
  Cedric: The Las Vegas office issues a Flash Flood Warning for south central Lincoln County Monday midday, with 0.75 to 1.5 inches of rain reported near US 93 and Kane Springs Road, and cancels it early afternoon with road closures still
• 8:30
  Cedric: in place.
• 8:32
  Cedric: A second series covering south central Clark County, including Searchlight and Cottonwood Cove, runs from mid afternoon until just before midnight.
• 8:40
  Cedric: The ending statement notes remaining road closures and a Flood Watch for southern Nevada that ran until 5 this morning.
• 8:48
  Cedric: New Jersey.
• 8:50
  Cedric: Coastal Flood and Flood Warnings remain in force for Monmouth and Ocean counties into Monday afternoon as the state works through nor'easter recovery.
• 8:59
  Cedric: All Ocean City bridges and streets reopen, with police and fire responding to numerous disabled vehicles and several lithium ion battery fires in electric vehicles, and high water rescue vehicles moving patients from flooded areas to EMS teams in Upper
• 9:14
  Cedric: Township.
• 9:15
  Cedric: The Shelter Road Recycling Center opens six days a week for storm debris.
• 9:20
  Cedric: Separately, a federal request is moving: Representative Frank Pallone Jr.
• 9:25
  Cedric: asks the state Department of Environmental Protection, the state Office of Emergency Management, the Army Corps of Engineers and FEMA to survey damage in the Sixth Congressional District, citing 6 to 7 feet of tidal flooding, damaged piers and bulkheads,
• 9:40
  Cedric: submerged vehicles and coastal erosion.
• 9:44
  Cedric: New York.
• 9:46
  Cedric: PSEG Long Island reports 6,108 customers still without power Monday morning out of 1.2 million on Long Island and the Rockaways, more than 95 percent of affected customers restored after more than 124,000 outages across 72 hours, with more than
• 10:02
  Cedric: 1,350 local and off Island field workers committed and more than 1,150 trees down.
• 10:10
  Cedric: New York City Emergency Management asks residents, business owners and nonprofits to file damage reports at the city's reporting portal to support a potential request for federal assistance, citing water levels of 8.95 feet in Jamaica Bay, 8.31 feet at
• 10:26
  Cedric: the Battery and 11.8 feet at Little Neck Bay, with severe flooding in the Rockaways, City Island and Howard Beach.
• 10:35
  Cedric: North Dakota.
• 10:37
  Cedric: The Grand Forks office issues a Flood Warning for northwestern Barnes County and southern Griggs County after 2 to 3 inches of rain fall, with flooding ongoing at Cooperstown, Wimbledon, Hannaford, Dazey and Walum.
• 10:50
  Cedric: Rhode Island.
• 10:51
  Cedric: Rhode Island Energy reports power restored to all customers affected by the nor'easter, more than 50,000 in total, in under 48 hours, after more than 270 crew members worked over 270 tree related outages and replaced 20 broken poles.
• 11:08
  Cedric: Texas.
• 11:09
  Cedric: Governor Abbott's statewide disaster declaration runs 30 days and is extendable.
• 11:14
  Cedric: It permits dyed off road diesel on public roads, suspends Texas Low Emission Diesel standards to federal limits, raises allowable weight for fuel, agricultural and timber loads, and accompanies a request that the Environmental Protection Agency waive federal ultra low
• 11:30
  Cedric: sulfur diesel requirements.
• 11:32
  Cedric: AAA put the state average for diesel at 5.86 dollars a gallon.
• 11:37
  Cedric: On the weather side, the Amarillo office places 13 Panhandle areas under a Flood Watch through Wednesday afternoon with creeks and streams already running high, and the El Paso office ran a Flash Flood Warning Monday evening covering El Paso
• 11:50
  Cedric: east of downtown, Horizon City, Clint, San Elizario and Socorro.
• 11:57
  Cedric: Utah.
• 11:59
  Cedric: Southern Utah carries the heaviest flash flood load in the country this morning.
• 12:03
  Cedric: The Salt Lake City office issued a Flood Warning late Monday night for east central Washington County and west central Kane County stating flooding is already occurring, naming Zion National Park, Springdale, Rockville, every slot canyon in Zion and both
• 12:18
  Cedric: forks of the Virgin River.
• 12:20
  Cedric: A second warning covers south central Garfield and eastern Kane counties including Escalante, Boulder, Coyote Gulch and the slot canyons near Hole in the Rock Road.
• 12:30
  Cedric: A third, issued at 1:40 this morning, runs until mid morning across Emery, Garfield, Kane and Wayne counties, naming Hanksville, Capitol Reef National Park, Bicknell, Torrey, Hite Marina, Bullfrog and Halls Crossing.
• 12:45
  Cedric: At 4:20 the office extended a Flash Flood Warning for southwestern Emery County covering Goblin Valley and the Little Wild Horse, Crack, Chute, Ding and Dang slot canyons, and at 5:10 added the Paria River, Wahweap Creek, Big Water, Buckskin
• 12:59
  Cedric: Gulch and Wire Pass in Kane County.
• 13:03
  Cedric: Backcountry and canyoneering traffic is the exposed population here.
• 13:07
  Cedric: Virginia.
• 13:08
  Cedric: The Town of Chatham issues a boil water advisory until further notice following a water main problem, affecting Chatham High School, Chatham Middle School, the Pittsylvania Career and Technical Center and the Regional Alternative School and STEM Academy, with drinking
• 13:24
  Cedric: water supplies delivered to the schools.
• 13:27
  Cedric: Washington.
• 13:28
  Cedric: The national situation report puts four large fires in Washington.
• 13:33
  Cedric: Three Queens stands at 9,575 acres and 32 percent containment with residences and critical infrastructure threatened, and the Sisi Fire sits at 4,325 acres and 15 percent containment.
• 13:47
  Cedric: Two larger incidents continue with structures threatened: Little Giant at 172,891 acres and 81 percent containment with 40 structures threatened, and Sinlahekin at 166,007 acres and 93 percent containment with 33 structures threatened.
• 14:04
  Cedric: Nationally, the preparedness level is 2, with 17 uncontained large fires and 5,697 personnel committed.
• 14:13
  Cedric: That wraps today's EM Morning Brief.
• 14:15
  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.
• 14:22
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• 14:24
  Cedric: EM Morning Brief is an EOC Voices Podcast.
• 14:28
  Cedric: Stay Safe.