Good morning.

I'm Cedric and This is your EM Morning Brief for Wednesday, January 21, 2026.

Arctic Air is diving into the Northern Plains today with winter weather advisories in effect and extreme cold watches posted later this week.

NWS notes a major winter storm is likely to organize Friday from the Southern Rockies plains into the mid south, planned for dangerous wind chills and and rapidly deteriorating travel where advisories are up overnight in Hawaii.

The Weather Service issued a flood advisory for Kauai and continues high surf small craft headlines Use caution near west and north facing shores and avoid flooded road crossings.

Seismically USGS reports a magnitude 4.9 earthquake north northeast of Indio, California late Monday with a robust aftershock sequence through Tuesday.

No major damage reports in the central U.S. a quake near Ulman, Illinois early Tuesday is listed by USGS at magnitude 3.5.

Several outlets initially reported magnitude 3.8.

No damage was reported.

We're following the USGS magnitude.

FEMA says the Bethel Assistance Hub reopens today Wednesday, January 21st Local Alaska Time to support survivors of the October 2025 West Coast Alaska storms.

Check hours and deadlines if you're in the region, let's run through the states.

Alaska FEMA's Bethel Assistance Hub reopens today to assist survivors of the October 8 to 13, 2025 storms and flooding.

Services include help with applications and case questions.

Verify location and hours before traveling if you were affected.

Note existing February deadlines for state FEMA individual assistance.

California A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck north northeast of Indio late Monday with ongoing small aftershocks Tuesday.

USGS intensity maps show light shaking and no major damage is reported.

NWS Los Angeles has routine coastal wind advisories posted.

Check local WFO pages for any shortfuse updates before commuting.

Freeze warnings and frost advisories continue early this morning across inland northeast and north central Florida with a rip current statement for area beaches.

Conditions moderate later today, but another cold night is likely inland.

Hawaii NWS issued a late night flood advisory for Kauai ended around 1am HST due to heavy rain.

High surf and small craft headlines continue around the islands.

Illinois USGS records an early morning quake near Ulman on Tuesday at magnitude 3.5.

Media initially reported magnitude 3.8 shaking was felt widely across central Illinois and metro St. Louis with no damage.

Official magnitude may be revised during analysis.

Follow USGS for final values.

Official update differs from some media reports following USGS data.

Minnesota Winter weather advisories today generally 9am to 6pm CST bring light snow and slick travel followed by extreme cold watches starting Thursday night.

Plan for rapidly falling wind chills and check local school commute impacts.

North Dakota Winter Weather Advisory remains in effect through this evening for much of western North Dakota.

Blowing snow with gusts to 55 mph will reduce visibility and create hazardous travel.

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

Source Links are in the show notes below.

That's the latest as of Wednesday, January 21st.

We'll continue to track the cold blast and late week storm setup.

Stay safe.