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National Situation Update: Saturday, November 22, 2008

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

Midwest
Most of the Midwest will be dry today with the exception of a few rain and snow showers over parts of Illinois and Iowa.  Remnants of the cold front will  still have an effect on parts of Michigan and Ohio.  A Lake Effect Snow Warning remains in effect over portions of central upper Michigan near Lake Superior and extreme northeast Ohio until late this afternoon.
Northeast
A Lake Effect Snow Warning remains in effect for northwest Pennsylvania until 4:00 p.m. EST; portions of southwest and central New York will be affected as well until 10:00 a.m. EST Sunday.
Areas well south of Buffalo, New York may see a foot or more of new snow by late this morning.  Parts of central New York, including Syracuse metro area, may also see more than a foot of snow.
These snow showers will gradually diminish off of Lake Erie today, but it will continue off of Lake Ontario into the evening.
South
Another hard freeze will impact most of the southeastern U.S. in the early morning, while a weak cold front will bring a chance of rain over eastern Texas, eastern Oklahoma, western Arkansas and western Louisiana through Sunday.  A Freeze Warning is in effect for upper southeast Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama, portions of the Florida Panhandle and northern Florida until late morning.  Red Flag Warnings remain in effect for north and central Georgia, southeast Alabama, the Florida Panhandle and Big Bend until late Saturday night.  A Flood Warning remains in effect for Pine Island Bayou near Sour Lake in southeast Texas.
West
A cold front will continue to bring rain and snow to the Pacific Northwest; snow levels in the Washington Cascades could lower to 2500 feet by tonight.  The Hawaiian Islands continue to experience heavy rain and thunderstorms, posing a threat of possible flash floods, especially for Kauai, Niihau and Oahu.  A Flash Flood Watch is in effect for all Hawaiian Islands until late tonight. (NOAA, National Weather Service and Various Media Sources)

California Wildfires

Federal Actions:

  • President declared Major Disaster Declaration FEMA-1810-DR on November 18, 2008 for the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and Santa Barbara.
  • Fire Management Assistance Grants FMAGs Issued:
    • Tea Fire - 2790, November 13, 2008
    • Sayre Fire - 2791, November 15, 2008
    • Triangle Complex (formerly the Freeway Complex) - 2792, November 15, 2008
  • All PDAs completed for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Santa Barbara Counties; initial review and cost assessment of PDAs for affected counties is 50% complete
  • No additional requests for Federal assistance at this time and no unmet needs 

State Actions:

  • Local Assistance Centers (LAC) have been established for Orange, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara Counties
  • LAC for Orange County - anticipate closure by close of business Monday; possible Mobile Disaster Recover Center (MDRC) relocation by Tuesday

FEMA Region IX Actions

  • All major fires (Freeway Complex, Sayre, and Tea) affecting southern California have been 100% contained; a total of 43,507 acres have burned
  • FEMA Regional Watch is operating at Steady State, 12/7 operations
  • The Joint Field Office (JFO) is operational in Pasadena, California
  • Regional ERT White team is in Pasadena, California
  • All evacuation orders have been lifted with the exception of the Oakridge Mobile Home Park (Sayre Fire)
  • 9 individuals continue to take shelter at Sylmar High School (Los Angeles County)  (FEMA Region IX, Red Cross NSS, CalFire Report, Santa Barbara County CA. Los Angeles City Fire Department, Orange County Fire Authority)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No significant activity.  (FEMA HQ)

U.S. Winter Outlook for 2008-2009

A recent announcement from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center anticipates warmer-than-normal temperatures for much of the central portion of the U.S. from December 2008 to February 2009.  The precipitation outlook for this same period forecasts that wetter-than-normal conditions will be prominent in the Central and Southern Plains along with portions of the Mississippi Valley.  Drier-than-normal conditions will prevail along the southern border of the nation, streamlining from the Southwest
to the Southeast.

Forecasters expect to see an increase in the variability of weather patterns this season with the absence of La Nina and El Nino.  These two Pacific Ocean atmospheric phenomena often present the ability to forecast months in advance.  In their absence, NOAA expects that the less predictive Arctic and North Atlantic climate patterns may play a more significant role in influencing U.S. weather.  (Source: NOAA National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean:
No tropical cyclone formation is expected during the next 48 hours.
Eastern Pacific:
No tropical cyclone formation is expected during the next 48 hours.
Western Pacific:
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

  • Amendment #1 for FEMA-1808-DR-KS replaces Michael L. Karl as the Federal Coordinating Officer (FCO) for the disaster and appoints Thomas A. Hall as the new FCO, effective Nov 18
  • Amendment #1 for FEMA-1809-DR-MO replaces Michael L. Karl as the FCO for the disaster and appoints Thomas A. Hall as the new FCO, effective November, 18, 2008
  • Amendment #12 for FEMA-1791-DR-TX replaces Sandy Coachman as the FCO for the disaster and appoints Stephen M. Deblasio Sr. as the new FCO, effective November 21, 2008
  • Amendment #13 for FEMA-1791-DR-TX adds Wharton County for Public Assistance, effective November 21, 2008

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 16:31:23 EDT