Tornado Emergency strikes south-central Nebraska; Minnesota Governor declares peacetime emergency as Flanders and Stewart Trail fires

EM Morning Brief

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Tornado Emergency strikes south-central Nebraska; Minnesota Governor declares peacetime emergency as Flanders and Stewart Trail fires

EM Morning Brief: May 18th, 2026

Brian Colburn

May 18, 2026

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.