FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

NWS Forecasts Heavy Rainfall, Flooding in Midwest, Ohio Valley; Potential Record Heat in Plains, Southeast

By

The US National Weather Service on Thursday said the Midwest and Ohio Valley are expected to experience heavy to excessive rainfall and flash flooding threats over the next two days due to an active pattern.

Meanwhile, the central/southern Plains and Southeast US likely to face persistent dangerous heat into next week, with many places expected to record their hottest temperatures for the year thus far and potential for record-tying/breaking temperatures.

The NWS early Thursday issued a red flag warning for Oregon's Baker City, Burns, La Grande, Ontario, John Day, Bend, Redmond, Prineville, Madras, Fossil, Monument, Jordan Valley, and Chemult, primarily served by PacifiCorp's Pacific Power and Idacorp's (IDA) Idaho Power.

A similar warning was raised for Washington's Republic, Colville, Omak, Coulee Dam, and Spokane, which mostly fall under the service area of Avista's (AVA) Avista Utilities.

Affected areas in Idaho include Bonners Ferry, Sandpoint, Coeur D Alene, McCall, Stanley, Idaho City, Caldwell, Boise, Mountain Home, Jerome, Twin Falls, Shoup, Challis, Stanley, Sun Valley, Hailey, Shoshone, Pocatello, Blackfoot, Burley, Soda Springs, Malad City, Preston, Montpelier, Palisades, Driggs, Island Park, Salmon, Arco, Mackay, and Dubois.

Idaho Power, Avista Utilities, and PacifiCorp's Rocky Mountain Power are the major electricity service providers in Idaho.

The NWS also issued red flag warnings for Jackson in Wyoming, served by Rocky Mountain Power; and areas near Placerville, Murphys, Sonora, Jackson, and South Lake Tahoe in California, where Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) unit Liberty and PG&E (PCG) subsidiary Pacific Gas and Electric are the primary service providers.

In Texas, a red flag warning was also issued for Clarendon, Pampa, Perryton, primarily served by Xcel Energy (XEL) and American Electric Power (AEP) through its Texas subsidiary.

Also placed under a red flag warning watch were Oklahoma's Beaver, Elk City, Gage, parts of Woodward, and areas near Altus. Woodward was also covered under an extreme heat warning watch, along with Alva, Enid, Stillwater and Ponca City. OGE Energy (OGE) unit Oklahoma Gas & Electric and AEP subsidiary Public Service Co. of Oklahoma are the major service providers in Oklahoma.

The NWS issued an extreme heat warning for most of Missouri, except for Macon, Chillicothe, Kirksville, Trenton, St. Joseph, Bethany, Maryville, Grant City, and Rock Port. Evergy (EVRG), Ameren's (AEE) Missouri unit, and Liberty are the major service providers in the state.

In Kansas, where Evergy is among the major service providers, affected areas include Russell, Lincoln, Ellsworth, Salina, Great Bend, McPherson, Hutchinson, Newton, Kingman, Anthony, Medicine Lodge, Wellington, Arkansas City, Wichita, Manhattan, El Dorado, Emporia, Eureka, Howard, Sedan, Fredonia, Iola, Concordia, Lawrence, and Paola.

In Arkansas, extreme heat warnings were issued for Mountain Home, Little Rock, Conway, Brinkley, Searcy, Batesville, and Jonesboro, which primarily fall under the service area of Entergy's (ETR) Arkansas unit.

Also placed under extreme heat warnings were Mississippi's Clarksdale, served by Entergy's Mississippi unit; and Carbondale, Carmi, Mount Vernon, and Chester in Illinois, where Ameren's Illinois unit is the primary service provider.

Similar warnings were raised for Kentucky's Mayfield, Paducah, Hopkinsville, Madisonville, and Owensboro. Kentucky is primarily served by PPL (PPL) subsidiary Louisville Gas and Electric & Kentucky Utilities, AEP unit Kentucky Power, and Duke Energy (DUK) among others.

Evansville and Petersburg in Indiana were placed under an extreme heat warning watch, while a flood warning was raised for Muncie, Terre Haute, Greensburg, Indianapolis, Kokomo, Marion, and Seymour. NiSource (NI) unit Northern Indiana Public Service Company, Duke Energy, and the Indiana unit of AES (AES) are among the major service providers in the state.

Flood warnings were also issued for small pockets of Ohio, South Dakota and Arizona.

In Arizona, the NWS also issued a flash flood warning for Parker, Phoenix and Wickenburg, primarily served by Pinnacle West Capital (PNW) unit Arizona Public Service Company.

A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for Nebraska's Norfolk and Columbus, with parts of these places also covered by a tornado warning. Nebraska mostly falls under the service area of regional transmission organization Southwest Power Pool, with Midcontinent ISO also serving some areas.

About 505,041 homes and businesses in the US Midwest faced power supply outages on Thursday, with Indiana accounting for 262,703 such cases. About 254,913 of these customers are served by Northern Indiana Public Service Company, according to PowerOutage.us data.

Related Articles

Commodities

Market Chatter: Russia Taps India for Gasoline as Refinery Attacks Deepen Fuel Crunch

Russia has started importing gasoline from India for the first time as it faces severe shortages after repeated Ukrainian strikes on its refineries, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday.The first cargo arrived Aug. 5 and was supplied by Nayara Energy, the Rosneft-backed Indian refiner, and reached Russia via a roundabout route involving a ship-to-ship transfer off Egypt, Bloomberg said, citing Kpler data.For the inaugural shipment, the tanker was loaded with 42,000 metric tons of gasoline at India's Vadinar on June 18, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. This was then transferred to another tanker off Egypt's Damietta Port on July 6. It then reached Russia in early August, after almost two months in transit.Indian imports add to fuel already coming from Belarus, highlighting how tight Russia's domestic gasoline supply has become. Analysts estimate Russian refining rates fell about a third below normal in July, and Ukrainian strikes have only intensified since, prompting Moscow to restrict fuel exports to prioritize local demand.The Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, India's Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, and Nayara's communications team did not immediately respond to' request for comment.(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

Commodities

US Natural Gas Update: Futures Gain on Warm Weather Ahead of Inventory Data

US natural gas futures maintained earlier gains in after-hours trade on Wednesday as warmer weather forecasts and strong LNG feedgas demand helped offset ample supplies as the market turned its focus to Thursday's Energy Information Administration storage report.The front-month Henry Hub contract and continuous contract were both up 0.94% at $2.793 per million British thermal units.Aegis Hedging said US temperatures had increased by about 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit over the forecast period, with modest warming expected in areas east of the Rockies. Power burn held at 49.1 billion cubic feet per day, while LNG feedgas demand rose to 18.6 Bcf/d, helping absorb much of the available supply and keeping the daily balance from becoming sharply loose.Aegis said Sabine Pass accounted for much of the increase in LNG feedgas demand, with flows rising by about 700 million cubic feet per day. A planned Creole Trail pipeline outage from Aug. 25-28 is expected to reduce gas flows to Sabine Pass by roughly 150 MMcf/d, while Freeport LNG is expected to return to normal operating rates in late August.US natural gas production remained elevated at 111.5 Bcf/d, while Canadian imports stood at 5.6 Bcf/d, putting total current supply at 117.2 Bcf/d, according to Gelber & Associates.Even stronger production is forecast. EIA said Wednesday that US natural gas output is expected to reach a record 122.5 Bcf/d in 2026, up from 118.5 Bcf/d in 2025. First-half production averaged 121.3 Bcf/d, up 4% from a year earlier, driven by growth in the Permian and Haynesville regions.Permian production is forecast at 29.2 Bcf/d, up 6%, with much of the increase coming from gas produced alongside crude oil.Market attention is now squarely on Thursday's EIA weekly storage report, with analysts expecting another sizable injection that could underscore the market's ample supply cushion.Barchart expects the EIA to report a 31 Bcf increase in US natural gas inventories for the week ended Aug. 7, slightly below the five-year average injection of 33 Bcf for the comparable week. Analysts polled by the Wall Street Journal see a 30 Bcf injection, which would narrow the inventory surplus over the five-year average to 192 Bcf from 195 Bcf.The expected injection comes as inventories already stand 6.7% above the five-year seasonal average. The EIA on Tuesday projected that US natural gas storage would reach 3,985 Bcf by the end of October, the highest end-October level in a decade and 5% above the five-year average.

Commodities

Alpha Compute Signs $55 Million Term Sheet for Pennsylvania Data Center Project

Alpha Compute Corp. entered a binding term sheet deal to acquire mineral, surface and pore-space assets in northern Pennsylvania and secure power and data center capacity for a planned campus, the company said in a Tuesday statement.The agreement gives Alpha Compute Management LLC, a company subsidiary, an exclusive option to acquire the assets for a base price of $55 million. A $3 million deposit would be payable after execution of a definitive property purchase agreement and satisfaction of specified conditions and would be credited toward the purchase price at closing.Alpha Compute, listed on NASDAQ under the ticker ALP, has a market capitalization of $4.48 million, according to CNN, classifying it as a micro-cap company.British Virgin Islands-based Alpha Compute said it would serve as the offtaker under a binding but conditional intra-company commitment for an initial 200 megawatts of planned power and data center capacity, with potential expansion to 1 gigawatt.The counterparty names were not disclosed, and Alpha Compute said the project remains subject to due diligence, permitting, financing, and definitive agreements.The assets include about 1,800 unleased Marcellus oil and gas mineral acres, with a 100% net revenue interest subject to title confirmation, as well as surface and pore-space properties. Existing leasehold rights in the Utica and deeper formations are excluded.The project is greenfield, with no operating power or data center capacity currently at the site. Alpha Compute said it plans to pursue development using non-dilutive capital through special-purpose vehicles and joint ventures with energy and development partners.A third-party evaluation estimated that gas produced from the Marcellus could support 200 MW of continuous generation for 10 years at an all-in delivered cost of about 5.85 cents per kilowatt-hour, below estimated PJM commercial and industrial rates of 8 cents to 10 cents.Development plans call for 12 Marcellus wells, with average laterals of about 13,000 feet, and two new well pads. Nearby interstate gas pipelines and existing electric infrastructure could support future expansion, subject to commercial arrangements and approvals.