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National Situation Update: Friday, November 10, 2006

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather

West: A storm system moving ashore over the Pacific Northwest will produce widespread precipitation from Washington to Central California. Amounts will be less than the previous storms but there is the potential for flooding. Higher elevation rainfall may not exceed 3 inches generally and snow levels will be about 3000 feet in the Cascades. Look for rain and snow in the higher elevations across the Interior West including most of northern Nevada, Utah, western Colorado, Idaho, western Wyoming and western Montana. Gusty winds may reach 50 mph along the coast of Washington. Winds will also be strong and gusty across parts of Montana, Wyoming and northern Colorado.

Midwest: A frontal system will produce rain and windy conditions across the Missouri Valley. Light snow will fall across South Dakota and another band of snow will move up through parts of western and northern Wisconsin. Snow will spread into northern Michigan by tonight. Temperatures will be on the decline across the region. Highs will range from the 30s across the northern Plains and upper Mississippi Valley to around 70 in the Ohio Valley.

South: A cold front will produce isolated strong thunderstorms across parts of Arkansas and northern Louisiana. Most of the South will warm with highs ranging from the 70s to 80s from north to south, with a few 90s in the Rio Grande Valley.

Northeast: Partly cloudy skies and seasonable temperatures are forecast for much of the region today. But the approaching frontal system will produce significant rainfall over the weekend with scattered flooding. Temperatures drop over the weekend to the 30s in northern New England to near 50 in the Middle Atlantic region. (National Weather Service, various Media Reports)

Pacific Northwest Flooding

The focus of operation has increasingly shifted from response to recovery and incident monitoring.

River warnings still in effect in Western Washington have decreased to 10, as of 11:30 am PST (2:30 pm EST), November 9, 2006. Of these rivers with warnings still in effect, five rivers have crested and are falling.

Rain is intermittent over both Washington and Oregon , but is not projected to produce heavy amounts. Temperatures for Western Washington are cooling down with snow levels dropping to lower elevations. The dropping snow levels will help keep precipitation from adding to saturated lowlands. Intermittent rain will continue over NW Oregon over the next several days, but will not have impact on water levels. The biggest threat is the high winds possibly impacting areas in both states with already saturated ground.

A significant number of State and county highways/roads continue to remain closed or damaged in Washington and Oregon due to flooding, and/or mud/rock slides.

Tribal Impacts: Quileute Tribe received 6,500 sandbags at LaPush (Clallam Co., WA), although water is receding in the tribal area. The Hoh Tribe (Clallam Co, WA) has proclaimed a state of emergency for its reservation on the Olympic Peninsula. The Sauk-Suiattle Tribe - according to the Skagit Co Emergency Operations Center, the tribe has been impacted by flood waters and is receiving assistance from the USACE. The Nisqually River is now overflowing its banks and is threatening a Nisqually Tribal school.

All Washington National Guard assets have stood down and are no longer on State Active Duty. Military support to civil authorities for flood operations have concluded.

At this time, there has been no request for FEMA assistance. (FEMA Region X, NWS,, NICC, NGB)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean Sea:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected through Saturday.

Central and Eastern Pacific:
Tropical Storm Rosa is located about 215 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo Mexico. The system is expected to track to the northwest and dissipate at sea within 96 hours

The National Hurricane Center is monitoring two areas southwest of Baja for possible development. However, there is no threat forecast to the United States.

Western Pacific:
Tropical Storm 23W (Chebi) is located approximately 370 miles east of Manila, Philippines, tracking westward. Based on the current warning 23W poses no threat to US territories. (USDOC/NOAA/NWS, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center, and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)

Earthquake Activity

On Thursday, November 10, 2006 at 12:05 am EST a light (magnitude 3.7) earthquake occurred 5 miles southeast of Willits, California. There were no reports of damage or injuries. (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)