Monday, March 2, 2009

National Situation Update: Monday, March 2, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

Winter storm warnings, watches, and advisories are in effect from South Carolina northeastward through the mid Atlantic and New England. See www.nws.noaa.gov for the latest information.

Northeast:
The storm low is tracking rapidly up the East Coast toward the Canadian Maritimes. The snow will end in Virginia, the eastern half of Maryland, Delaware and eastern Pennsylvania with accumulations of two to 10 inches. Southeast New York including New York City and western Long Island will receive six inches to a foot of snow. Southern New England, southeast Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine will have snow through tonight and Boston could get as much as 15 inches. A wintry mix of sleet and rain will depress snowfall amounts on Cape Cod, Nantucket and the eastern tip of Maine. The storm will produce gusty north to northeast winds up to 40 mph as it tracks along the coast.

South:
As the storm moves rapidly northeast, the last of the snow will end over North Carolina this morning. Some areas could end up with six inches of snow. Gusty winds across the Southeast will gradually subside through the day. Under a ridge of high pressure, the Southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley will be dry. From the Mississippi Valley eastward, temperatures will be a chilly 10 to 25 degrees below average. Across the Southern Plains, temperatures will be a very warm 10 to 20 degrees above average.

Midwest:
Under high pressure, the region will be mostly dry. However, several weak disturbances over the north-central states will produce some minor snowfall. High temperatures will be 5 to 20 degrees below average from the Missouri Valley eastward, but 10 to 20 degrees above average in the central High Plains.

West:
With a large low pressure area off the Pacific Northwest, precipitation will continue for the coast north of Los Angles and the intermountain west. Snow levels will range from 3,500 feet in the Washington Cascades, 5,000 feet in the Siskiyou and Mount Shasta to 7,500 feet and lowering in the Sierra. Northern California will still see the heaviest rain. An additional foot or more of snow will fall in the highest elevations of the Sierra and gusty winds will continue to the lee of the Cascades and Sierra and across the Great Basin. Low pressure is forecast to remain off the Pacific Northwest Coast through mid-week with additional precipitation expected across the northern two-thirds of California, Oregon and Washington and eastward into the northern and central Rockies. (NOAA, National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

Winter Storm Response

FEMA NRCC is at Watch/Steady State - 24/7: The NRCC has contacted FEMA Regions I, II, III, and IV to determine their respective state's level of activation/readiness, any anticipated actions, and any existing problems associated with the storm.

Region I:

  • RRCC - Monitoring Storm, Watch/Steady State, 7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST
  • State Issues: None

Region II:

  • RRCC - Monitoring Storm, Watch/Steady State, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. EST
  • State Issues:

New York

  • State EOC not activated
  • Minimal and sporadic power outages
  • No request for Federal assistance at this time

New Jersey

  • State EOC at Level II
  • Minimal and sporadic power outages
  • No request for Federal assistance at this time

Region III:

  • RRCC - Monitoring Storm, Watch/Steady State, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. EST
  • State Issues:

Delaware

  • State EOC has a small planning and operations cell
  • Minimal and sporadic power outages
  • No request for Federal assistance at this time

Maryland

  • State EOC Level II
  • Minimal and sporadic power outages
  • No request for Federal assistance

Virginia

  • State EOC is not activated
  • Power outages: preliminary reports indicate 125,039 customers without power
  • No request for Federal assistance

Pennsylvania

  • State EOC Level II
  • Minimal power outages
  • No request for Federal assistance

Region IV:

  • RRCC - Monitoring Storm, Watch/Steady State, 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. EST
  • State Issues:

Georgia

  • State EOC is not activated
  • Power outages: preliminary reports indicate approximately 50,000 customers without power in the northeast part of the state
  • No request for Federal assistance at this time

North Carolina

  • State EOC is not activated
  • Power outages: preliminary reports indicate 79,696 customers without power
  • No request for federal assistance at this time

South Carolina

  • State EOC is not activated
  • Power outages: preliminary reports indicate 100,954 customers without power
  • No request for federal assistance at this time (FEMA NRCC, FEMA Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, Duke Power, Media Sources)

Texas Wildfires

Nail Ranch Complex (Shackelford County): 1,304 acres; 80% contained; no structures were reported to be involved.
Panther Ranch Fire (Caldwell County): 704 acres; 100% contained.
Rhodes Ranch Fire (Taylor County): 3,026 acres; 59% contained; numerous residences and buildings damaged.
West Fork Fire (Jack County): 2,400 acres; 80% contained.
Wilderness Ridge (Bastrop County): 400 acres; 10% contained; 28 structures destroyed and 200 homes threatened. (Southern Area Coordination Center Report, Mar 1)

Fire Management Assistance Grant

No significant activity. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Western Pacific:
There are no current tropical cyclone warnings. (NOAA, HPC, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

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