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National Situation Update: Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

Midwest
Sleet and freezing rain is moving eastward from the southern Plains toward the Ohio Valley. A significant ice storm is likely from eastern Oklahoma to western Kentucky and extreme northwest Tennessee. Several inches of snow and sleet are possible from Missouri to central Ohio.
South
Freezing rain and sleet are forecast across parts of eastern Oklahoma, much of northern Texas and northern Arkansas. Significant icing and power outages are likely from eastern Oklahoma through northern Arkansas to extreme northwest Tennessee. Rain will extend from eastern Texas to southern Arkansas, northern Mississippi and much of Tennessee.
Northeast 
Snow will begin before daybreak across western Maryland and the eastern West Virginia panhandle early Tuesday morning, then will spread east toward the Baltimore-Washington corridor around or just after daybreak. Snow will continue into the afternoon, possibly mixing with sleet and freezing rain across the Potomac Highlands and central Shenandoah Valley. Snow and sleet accumulations will be 1 to 3 inches. Interior sections of the northeast, from Upstate New York to interior sections of New England, may see 6 to 12 inches of snow from this event.
West 
Some rain is predicted for the Pacific Northwest today. Light snow will also develop over eastern Washington, northern Idaho and the Bitterroots. Some snow may linger in the southern Rockies. (National Weather Service and Media Sources)

Potential Winter Ice Storm – FEMA Region VI (Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas)

Ice and Winter Storm Warnings are in effect across much of eastern Oklahoma and west central and northwest Arkansas through Tuesday night. There is a potential for freezing rain over portions of North Texas through Wednesday. Although the impact on infrastructure is expected to be moderate, travel could be highly affected.
Arkansas
Significant ice accumulations have been reported across Arkansas counties. AR State EOC is on standby (not activated).
Oklahoma
Numerous southeast and east central region OK counties could receive up significant ice accumulations today. The Governor of Oklahoma has declared a State of Emergency for all 77 counties in response to the ice storm impacting the area. OK State EOC is at Level II (extended operating hours for key personnel).
Texas:
There is a potential for freezing rain over portions of North Texas through Wednesday. The TX Governor's Division of EM is monitoring the situation.  Texas SOC is operational at Level I for wildfire response and border security. The State has not requested a FEMA Liaison.
Federal Response
FEMA Region VI is at Level III activation; ESF-3 has been requested but will not be staffed until this afternoon; ESF-12 is monitoring. FEMA State Liaisons will report to OK EOC today and to the Arkansas EOC if needed. Region VI IMAT: A 2-person communication team deployed to McAllister, OK on Monday night. The remainder of the Region VI IMAT team is on standby for deployment, as required.

One 50-pack of generators has been pre-positioned at McAlester, OK, and one 50-pack is enroute to the Arkansas National Logistics Staging Area (NLSA) in Fayetteville, AR.

U. S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has been activated to provide a power Planning and Response Team (PRT). (NWS, AK DOEM, TX DEM, OK OEM, Region VI)

Potential Winter Ice Storm – FEMA Region VII (Missouri and Kansas)

A mixture of Ice and Winter Storm Warnings remain in effect for portions of extreme southeast Kansas as well as southwest, central and far southern Missouri until this evening. Significant icing is expected along and south of a line from Table Rock Lake to Eminence, where ice accumulations of up to one inch are possible. In addition, there are reports of thunderstorms in the area. Substantial impacts to trees and power lies are expected, with power outages likely, and travel conditions will be hazardous.
Kansas
Bourbon County, Kansas Emergency Management reported at least ¼ inch of ice accumulations and Cherokee County, Kansas reported at least ½ inch of ice on trees across southern portions of town. The Kansas EOC is not activated.
Missouri
The Missouri SEMA EOC is activated to a Level I (normal operations) with a state duty officer and one additional staff manning the SEOC overnight Monday. The State has received a report of one fatality (traffic related) in southwest Missouri. Numerous traffic-related accidents have been reported.  There are no major road closures at this time.  No other State agencies have been activated and the State has not requested a FEMA State Liaison.
Federal Response
Region VII RRCC is activated at a Level III, 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m. CST, with minimal staffing (watch operations staff only). The need to extend hours of operation will be reevaluated on Tuesday afternoon. (NWS, MO SEMA, Region VII)

Volcano Activity

Redoubt Volcano, AK (103 miles southeast of Anchorage): Beginning Sunday morning, nearly continuous volcanic tremors have been recorded at stations near Redoubt's summit, prompting the Alaskan Volcano Observatory (AVO) to raise the Aviation Color Code to ORANGE and the Alert Level to WATCH. Although seismicity close to the volcano's summit has declined somewhat, the current activity at Redoubt could be precursory to an eruption, perhaps within days. The State of Alaska and the AVO continue to monitor the situation.(Region X, AVO)

Fire Management Assistance Grant

No 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

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake was reported off the coast of the Fox Islands, Aleutian Island chain, Alaska, on Monday at 2:11 p.m. EST; depth 21 miles. Location was 224 miles east of Adak and 1,022 miles west-southwest of Anchorage, AK. No Tsunami Warning was generated for the west coast of US/Canada as a result of this event. (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)