The atmospheric river heading our way seems to be serving drama. I’m feeling like it’s the meteorological equivalent of someone insisting they’re “totally fine” while crying in a Walmart parking lot. Expect it to be wet, dramatic, and excessively extra.
It’ll be a “short” one today.
Let’s do this!
Association News
- WSEMA Membership: Our weather may be dramatic, but renewing your membership is delightfully simple. One of these things requires sandbags; the other just needs a click or three.
- WSEMA Communities of Interest (COIs): We’re officially kicking off WSEMA’s new Communities of Interest (COIs) and I’m really excited about it! These groups are designed to bring people together around shared interests, experiences, or specialties. Each COI is member-led and shaped by the people in it, whether the goal is building community, swapping ideas, supporting newer professionals, or just creating a space where EMs can talk honestly about the work (and occasionally laugh about it, too). Full details are in the attached document.
Emergency Management in Washington
- WA EMD Briefing to House Committee: Washington State Emergency Management Division folks gave a briefing to the House Technology, Economic Development, and Veterans Committee on general state emergency management and disaster planning strategies. Their portion starts at 49:17 of the recording.
- WSDA Severe Storms and Floods Info: Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) shared their flood communication tools and info for outreach partners to inform the agricultural community on what they should do before, during, and after a flood.
- FIFA World Cup: Here is what I think I know about the World Cup update and draw that occurred today. The US Men’s National Team (USMNT) was placed in Group D, alongside Paraguay national football team, Australia national soccer team, and a yet-to-be-determined European playoff winner.
The second group match for the USMNT is set to be played in Seattle on Friday, June 19, 2026.
So, at minimum there’s a high likelihood that US vs. Paraguay or US vs. Australia may come to Seattle depending on match assignments.
More info to come once I can get my act together and continue reading on Wikipedia how FIFA World Cup works.
- WA State Healthcare Situational Awareness Brief: Hospitalized patients with RSV have risen, and hospitalized influenza cases have increased sharply over the past week, though overall numbers remain low. Hospitalized COVID+ cases remain low and have decreased slightly in the past few days. State COVID, RSV hospitalizations and ED visits remain lower than this time last year while Influenza numbers are equivalent. Hospitalized pediatric RSV cases are also increasing, but not as sharply as the adult population. Adult and pediatric ED visits are up significantly state-wide. Adult and pediatric ED boarders have increased more than two-fold over the past 7-days in Western Washington from 105 on 11/28 to 239 as of this morning’s data. Hospital boarders have also increased in Western WA, but more moderately. In Central and Eastern WA boarder numbers have been variable but consistent with previous weeks. Adult ICU and acute bed occupancy have increased over the past week. Pediatric ICU and acute bed occupancy while variable is similar to previous weeks
- Have something you’d like me to feature? Send it my way at president@wsema.org by 8:00 a.m. on Fridays. Trainings, news, shoutouts, or anything you think WSEMA should know about!
National EM Updates and Misc.
- FEMA Review Council: Director Ezelle passed along information related to the next meeting of the FEMA Review Council.
The FEMA Review Council will hold a public meeting on Thurs 12/11 from 1-3 pm eastern. Agenda items include reviewing the recommendations and a vote by the members on it.
The meeting will include: Remarks from Senior leadership; remarks and updates from Council leadership; a presentation of the draft final report from the Final Report Subcommittee; a presentation of a summary of public comments made to the Council by the Designated Federal Officer; Council deliberations; and a public vote on the draft final report
DATES: Meeting Registration: Registration to attend the meeting is required and must be received via email no later than 5 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Wednesday, December 10, 2025. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, December 11, 2025, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. You can register to attend by providing your full legal name and email address no later than 5 p.m. EST on Wednesday, December 10th, 2025, to the DFO Patrick Powers via email to FEMAreviewcouncil@hq.dhs.gov
- Homeland Security Today News
- Supreme Court Information as of December 3: Highlights of what was happening with the Supreme Court this week.
- Visit the Hoh Rain Forest: The Hoh Rain Forest on the Olympic Peninsula is one of the largest temperate rainforests in the U.S., and parts of it get over 140 inches of rain a year. A perfect destination for anyone who thinks the atmospheric river isn’t dramatic enough. It is gorgeous and always leaves me in awe.
Here’s to a weekend that is significantly less chaotic than the forecast. May you stay warm, stay dry, and find at least one pocket of calm that feels the opposite of a Walmart parking lot cry session.
All my best,
Kyle