National Situation Update: Saturday, February 11, 2006
Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).
Heavy Snow Forecast for Parts of South, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast
Northeast: The developing low pressure system over Georgia will track up the East Coast arriving just east of the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia (Delmarva) Peninsula by late this evening and just south of Nova Scotia late Sunday evening.
Heavy Snow Warnings and Winter Storm Watches are in effect from Tennessee to Maine.
Heavy snow will fall over much of the Mid-Atlantic from West Virginia through D.C., Philadelphia, Trenton, and New York City, and eastward to the Delmarva and New Jersey Coasts.
Snowfall in this zone could be in the 6 to 12-inch range with localized amounts over a foot. Snow from the Laurel Mountains to the Poconos and westward will be light. By Sunday morning, the snow will be coming to an end south of New York City as the Mid-Atlantic quiets down.
Heavy snow will spread across most of southern New England early Sunday. From New York City to Hartford to Boston to coastal New Hampshire and coastal Maine, 6 to 12 inches of snow is possible. Long Island and southeast Massachusetts may see the most significant accumulations with snow accumulations of over a foot.
By early Monday, the storm will move away through the Canadian Maritimes, ending the snow even in New England. The winds will quickly diminish as well.
South: Heavy snow will hit eastern Kentucky, the Cumberland Plateau of eastern Tennessee and the southern Appalachians. The mountains along the Tennessee-North Carolina border could pick up 6 to 12 inches by early Sunday. A chilly rain will gradually taper off over the Southeast Saturday while showers and thunderstorms press southward through the Florida Peninsula.
Midwest: As the Eastern storm takes center stage this weekend, Kentucky and possibly southernmost Ohio will be clipped with heavy snow.
West: The windy conditions from Seattle to Portland and the northern Oregon Cascades will linger into Sunday, but will gradually diminish. Moderate Santa Ana winds will return to Southern California this weekend and linger into the first part of the coming week, keeping the fire danger high. (USDOC/NOAA/NWS and Various Commercial and Media Sources)
Volcano Activity
Seismicity at Alaska's Augustine volcano remains at low levels but is still above background. Small block and ash flows and rock falls may be occurring intermittently. The current Level of Concern Color Code remains Orange. (United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Volcano Observatory)
Tropical Activity
There are no tropical disturbances in the Atlantic.
In the Pacific, The Joint Typhoon Warning Center has issued a Tropical Cyclone Formation Alert (TCFA) for the area of convection located near 16.6S 174.2W approximately 280 miles southwest of Pago Pago, American Samoa. The system is moving southward at 11 knots. The potential for the development of a significant tropical cyclone within the next 24 hours is upgraded to good. (USDOC/NOAA/NWS, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)
Earthquake Activity
At 4:48 pm, EST on February 10, 2006, a magnitude 3.8 earthquake occurred at 39.5 degrees North, 107.4 degrees West, in west central Colorado. The epicenter is in Garfield County (population 43,791), approximately six miles west of Glenwood Springs, CO (132 miles West of Denver, CO). No damage or injuries have been reported by county emergency managers to the Colorado Office of Emergency Management (OEM).
State/Local Response: CO OEM contacted county emergency managers for damage assessments.
Request For Federal Assistance: No request for Federal Assistance at this time. (Source: United States Geological Survey (USGS) Earthquake Hazards Program)
Preliminary Damage Assessments
No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Disaster Declaration Activity
No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Last Modified: Wednesday, 29-Mar-2006 14:57:32 EST