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National Situation Update: Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Rain in the West and Snow in the Northeast

West   
In the West, heavy rain, 5 to 8 inches, is likely in northwestern California and southwest Oregon. There is the potential of flash flooding for the northern California coast and Bay Area on.  

Gusty winds are expected to whip over the southern Oregon and northern and central California coasts.

High surf advisories and warnings are out for surf of 20-25 feet.

In addition, heavy snow fall of a foot or more and winter storm warnings remain posted for the mountains of central Idaho and west-central Montana.

Northeast    
Rain and snow will move in along portions of the Northeast with the vast majority of the precipitation falling in northern and central New England and New York.

Snow is expected in western and northern New York State and northern New England. 5 to 8 inches is expected around Buffalo with up to a foot in the Adirondacks and Green Mountains. A winter storm watch is posted.    A few inches are possible in the mountains of West Virginia.

Midwest    
Scattered snow showers and flurries will prevail from the eastern Great Lakes southward through Ohio and Indiana into Kentucky. A few inches of slushy snow may accumulate in northeast Ohio, but elsewhere, totals should be an inch or less.  

South   
Beach goers on the West Coast of Florida will see some rough surf today with a strong risk of rip currents. A high surf advisory is posted from the Suwannee River to Bonita Beach through Wednesday December 27, 2006 in the morning.

A few showers are possible in south Florida as a cold front passes through, while farther north scattered light rain and snow showers are expected in Tennessee, extreme western North Carolina and the northern parts of Alabama and Georgia.  (NWS, Media Sources)

Florida Christmas Tornadoes

Florida, December 25, 2006, the National Weather Service reported that a tornado touched down near Lake City. Florida at approximately 8:00 am EST.

The state reports that some damages were reported in Volusia County, Daytona Beach, Florida area. There were reports that several planes overturned at the airport and some roof damage. There was fuel leakage due to the overturned planes.

Lake County and others have reported sporadic minor damages to mobile homes. Some debris and tree damaged. There were some minor injuries and 1 severe injury. The Red Cross is on the scene and providing assistance.

Region IV is in contact with the State Operations/Duty Officer. There is no request for federal assistance at this time.  (FEMA Region IV, NWS)

NOAA Increases Tsunami Warning Capability For The Most Threatened Parts Of The United States

Dec. 22, 2006 - NOAA announced the deployment of six new Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART), stations in the southwest Pacific. The new stations provide increased lead time for tsunami detection to the U.S. coastal areas at most risk of tsunamis traveling long distances, including the coastlines of Hawaii, Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California.

Over the last two years, NOAA expanded the U.S. warning system to include the Atlantic coast, Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The agency has deployed a total of 25 DART tsunameter stations in U.S. waters; installed 15 new and upgraded 33 existing tide stations; completed inundation models for 17 communities; and recognized 26 new TsunamiReady communities. NOAA also hired new employees to fully staff its two tsunami warning centers in Honolulu, Hawaii, and Palmer, Alaska, around the clock. "We have reached our initial operating capability for the Untied States, which is to say we have met our goals of aggressively expanding every facet of the tsunami program," added Navy Vice Admiral Lautenbacher, Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator. (NOAA)

Tropical Weather Outlook

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

At 2:44 pm EST, December 25, an earthquake of 3.5 (minor) at a depth of 5 miles was located 77 miles west of Las Vegas, Nevada.  There have been no reports of damage or injuries.  (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center, Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, and West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers, media sources)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)