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National Situation Update: Saturday, March 14, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

National Weather

South
Periods of heavy rain are forecast across parts of Mississippi, Alabama, central and eastern Tennessee, northern Georgia and North Carolina. The area may experience one to three inches of rain, with locally higher amounts.
West
Light rain and mountain snow showers will continue over the mountains of southern Colorado and New Mexico. Rain and snow will move into the Pacific Northwest today and Sunday.  Heavy snow amounts are expected west of the Cascades; snow in the higher elevations may exceed one foot. Rainfall, possibly as much as six inches, will be mainly in the coastal mountains of Oregon and extreme northwest California, and the lower elevations of the Oregon Cascades.
Northeast 
Occasional rain will fall on Saturday in areas south of the Mason-Dixon Line; however, most of the northeast will remain clear with moderate temperatures.
Midwest 
Dry conditions throughout the region this weekend will help as flood waters continue to slowly recede. Saturday highs will range from the 30s in North Dakota to the 50s from the central Plains to the Ohio Valley. Mild temperatures will continue into the middle of next week. (NOAA, National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

Midwest Flooding Update

River levels remain high across the Midwest due to the heavy rains of last weekend; however, conditions continue to improve. All rivers currently at Major Flood Stage have crested and are beginning to recede with the exception of the Illinois River at Meredosia, IN, which is scheduled to crest on Thursday, March 19. While points downstream will continue to rise, the threat for additional significant rainfall through early next week is low. Tennessee and southern Kentucky may see one-half to one inch of rain; other locations should see a quarter inch or less.
Region V
Indiana
The State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) remains activated to at Level III; partial activation. A FEMA liaison is active in the Indiana EOC. State officials are conducting local damage assessments; approximately 381 homes have been affected statewide. Five affected counties have their EOCs activated. No fatalities or injuries have been reported. Two state roads remain closed. Five shelters remained open overnight Thursday with a population of nine.
Three locations along the Tippecanoe, Kankakee and Iroquois rivers remain above Major Flood Stage but all have crested and continue to recede.
Allen County has declared travel warning advisories and requested water pumps from the Indiana DHS due to flooding along the Maumee River.
Extensive lowland flooding continues along the Tippecanoe River downstream from Oakdale Dam in Carroll County. Flood flow releases may cause some evacuations but minimal property damage.
Civil Air Patrol reported residential flooding in Winamac (Pulaski County) and Buffalo (White County).
Fulton and Marshall Counties issued County Declarations. USGS deployed teams to Allen and DeKalb Counties.
Ohio
The State EOC is not activated and no county EOCs are open. No fatalities or injuries have been reported; however, one person is reported missing. No shelters were open Thursday night. Putman and Defiance County have declared a local emergency. Most U.S. and state road closures across Ohio are expected to reopen within 24 hours. All rivers are below Major Flood Stage. No unmet needs have been identified, and no State or Federal assistance has been requested.
Michigan
The State EOC is not activated. Monroe County (EOC not activated) has declared state of emergency due to flooding along the Raisin River. No fatalities or injuries have been reported. No request for Federal Assistance has been requested. All rivers are below Major Flood Stage.
Illinois
The State EOC is not activated. No fatalities or injuries have been reported, and no shelters were open Thursday night. Flooding in Illinois has closed U.S. Highway 24 and the Illinois Route in Iroquois County, near the town of Watseka. No unmet needs have been identified, and no State or Federal assistance has been requested. Three locations on the Illinois River and one location on the Moline River remain at Major Flood Stage.

Alaska - Redoubt Volcano Update

Based on declining seismicity, a possible decrease in heat flux, and no apparent change in gas emission, the likelihood of an eruption of Mount Redoubt within days to weeks has diminished. On Tuesday, March 10, 2009, Alaska Volcano Observatory (AVO) lowered the Aviation Color Code to YELLOW and Alert Code to ADVISORY; an information statement describing the current status of the volcano and potential for future activity was released yesterday. Overall seismic activity over the past two weeks has decreased to occasional short periods of low amplitude volcanic tremor and small discrete earthquakes interspersed between periods of no seismic activity, similar to that detected prior to the period of unrest common during late January and most of February. These conditions could persist for many months and do not indicate that an eruption is imminent.

While it is still possible for unrest at the volcano to change rapidly, the overall trend is one of declining unrest and a much lower probability of an eruption in the near term. It has been cloudy over the volcano most of the week. Only a few clear views of the volcano were possible by satellite and web camera; these showed nothing unusual. AVO scientists will continue to evaluate conditions at the volcano regularly, but the AVO operations center in Anchorage is no longer formally staffed 24 hours per day. (USGS, Alaska Volcano Observatory)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No activity. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Eastern 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

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 16:26:54 EDT