National Situation Update: Monday, March 2, 2009

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)

No comments:

How fires get their names

Every year in California thousands of wildfires start throughout the state. In most cases, the dispatch center sending the initial resources to a wildland fire will designate a name for the fire, but the first on scene engine or fire official can also name the incident. Fires are usually named for the area in which they start – a geographical location, local landmark, street, lake, mountain, peak, etc. Quickly naming the fire provides responding fire resources with an additional locater, and allows fire officials to track and prioritize incidents by name. For example during the Southern California Fire Siege of 2003, the largest wildland fire in California history, the Cedar Fire in San Diego County, was named after the Cedar Creek Falls area where it started. The destructive Old Fire, which burned during the same time period in San Bernardino County, was named after the road along which it started - Old Waterman Canyon Road.

CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States. CDF - CAL FIRE Firefighters answer the call more than 300,000 times a year. CAL FIRE Firefighters make up the fire department for 30 of our 58 counties in California and more than 100 local communities. We serve as the incident command during many of California’s most serious disasters. CAL FIRE Firefighters respond to many various types and forms of calls ranging from structural fires, to auto accidents, to earthquakes, to floods, to the spilling of hazardous materials, to every conceivable disaster; CAL FIRE answer's the calls. CAL FIRE is the largest fire department in California and the second largest fire department in the United States . CAL FIRE firefighters protect 33 million acres of State Responsibility Area (SRA). We have over 4,000 members within CAL FIRE and CAL FIRE is associated with the California Professional Firefighters (CPF) and the International Association of Firefighters (IAFF).

CFN - CALIFORNIA FIRE NEWS - CAL FIRE NEWS

Monday, March 2, 2009