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National Situation Update: Friday, March 27, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant Weather

West
A major spring storm system impacting the central Rockies is forecast to exit eastern Colorado and New Mexico some time this morning.  The remainder of the West should see no active weather through tonight. A Blizzard and Winter Storm Warning is in effect for northern and eastern New Mexico and northeastern Colorado until 6:00 p.m. MDT today. Accumulating snow is anticipated through this afternoon before tapering off. Total snow accumulations of 3 to 8 inches are possible in sections of the eastern Plains and the adjacent High Plains/Estancia Valley.  In addition to the snow, strong north to northeast winds will bring in much colder air and will result in blowing, drifting snow.
Midwest
A storm will bring heavy snow and strong winds into Kansas today.  Parts of southwest Kansas may get over a foot of snow.  Winds gusting to 40 mph are possible.  Rain will shift eastward through southern Michigan and the Ohio Valley.  Severe thunderstorms are possible in the Ohio Valley.  On the colder west side of the storm, a band of accumulation snow will extend northeastward from Kansas to northern Michigan.  The Flood Warning remains in effect until 4:00 p.m. CDT Tuesday, March 31st, for all of northwest and west central Minnesota and much of eastern North Dakota except the Devils Lake Basin. Significant overland flooding continues over the region.  A Blizzard Warning is in effect for portions of western and central Kansas until 7:00 a.m. CDT Saturday.  Snowfall amounts between 8 to 16 inches, with locally higher amounts near the Oklahoma border, are expected through tonight. Heavy snowfall, combined with strong winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 50 mph, will create widespread blizzard conditions. Snow is expected to taper off tonight but gusty winds will continue to blow and drift the snow making for difficult travel conditions.  A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 7:00 a.m. CDT Saturday for southwest Kansas.  Snowfall amounts between 6 to 8 inches with locally higher amounts are likely by tonight. In addition strong winds of 25 to 40 mph can be expected which will reduce visibilities to less than one half mile at times due to blowing and drifting snow. This snow is expected to taper off early Saturday but gusty winds will continue to blow and drift the snow. 
South
A very strong storm system will move from the Rockies into the southern Plains today bringing hail producing thunderstorms to eastern Texas, Oklahoma and western Arkansas.  Severe thunderstorms will also move eastward into the lower Mississippi Valley and northern Gulf Coast today.  Strong winds, much colder air and rain quickly changing to heavy snow will move eastward into western Texas and western Oklahoma, bringing blizzard conditions to the southern high Plains.  Locations from southeast Oklahoma and eastern Texas to Tennessee, Georgia and the Florida Panhandle may see hail, damaging wind gusts and tornadoes due to a low pressure system moving from eastern New Mexico across northern Texas and into Arkansas, followed by a cold front later today.  A Blizzard Warning remains in effect until 7:00 a.m. CDT Saturday for heavy, blowing snow across the western and central Texas and Oklahoma panhandles.  An extremely dangerous winter storm will impact the panhandle region through early Saturday. Heavy snow and very strong winds will be affecting a large portion of the area this morning. Northerly winds of 35 to 40 mph with gusts over 50 mph will cause widespread blowing snow with near zero visibility in whiteout conditions through tonight. Snow accumulations of six to twelve inches are expected across the warning area with amounts in excess of twelve inches common. Snow drifts of 10 to 20 feet will be possible before the snow finally ends Saturday morning.  A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 1:00 p.m. CDT Saturday, for heavy, blowing snow across the eastern Oklahoma and Texas panhandles.  A powerful late-season winter storm will impact much of Oklahoma and North Texas through early Saturday afternoon. Heavy snow is expected to fall over parts of northern and western Oklahoma, and strong winds will create near-blizzard conditions in some areas. Snow accumulations could reach unprecedented levels for so late in the season and blowing, drifting snow will make travel extremely difficult if not impossible.  Red Flag Warning remains in effect from 1:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. CDT today for portions of south central and extreme western Texas.  Strong winds and low relative humidity will move into the area leading to critical fire weather conditions. Relative humidity will fall to the mid teens and surface winds will be 20 to 25 mph.
Northeast
No significant weather forecasted. (NWS, and Media Sources)

Red River Flood Preparations

Federal Response:
FEMA Headquarters

  • FEMA NRCC is at Watch/Steady State (24/7).  As of 8:00 a.m. EDT, the NRCC will be activated to Level II including select ESFs.
  • National IMAT - West deployed to ND EOC.
  • National IMAT East is on alert for possible deployment
  • FEMA's National Logistics Staging Area (NLSA)/Grand Forks (as of Mar 26 11:00 p.m.):
  • Inbound: (LMD commodity support map as of Mar 26 11:00 p.m.)
    • 20,000 Meals - 1 truck
    • 243,000 Liters of water - 15 trucks
    • 6 Generators - 5 trucks
    • 30,100 Cots - 43 trucks
    • 60,200 Blankets -32 trucks
    • 5 MDRCs
    • 50,000 Hygiene Kits
  • On Hand: (LMD commodity support map as of Mar 26 11:00 p.m.)
  • 305,469 meals - 8 trucks 
  • 46,656 liters - 3 trucks
  • 50 generators - 6 trucks 
  • 792 cots - 1 truck
  • 2,300 blankets - 1 truck

Region V

  • RRCC is at Level III - 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. CDT (12/7)
  • Region continues to monitor flooding and maintain communications with USACE and ESFs
  • Advance Element of R-V IMAT active in MN SEOC; remaining elements of RV IMAT to deploy March 27
  • Joint PDAs to begin March 27
  • Region continues to work closely with impacted States; no resource shortfalls identified
  • No unmet needs

Minnesota Flooding - Red River Basin

  • Minnesota Emergency Operations Center is fully activated with state agencies staffing 0800 to 1800 and SEOC Operations is being staffed 24 hours a day.  One FEMA LNO is active in the Minnesota Emergency Operations Center
  • President approved  FEMA-3304-EM on March 26, 2009
  • Priorities are maintaining dikes and overland flooding
  • Evacuations: The township of Georgetown (Clay County) is planning to issue voluntary evacuation orders due to rising water levels. Evacuations are expected to displace 100-120 residents
  • Shelters: 3 shelters open; 5 occupants
  • Sandbagging operations are ongoing in 4 counties.
  • Roseau County has pre-positioned heavy equipment in preparation for river crest levels.
  • Red River Reservation (Clearwater, Beltrami Counties): Roads in the lower areas are underwater.
  • White Earth Reservation (Mahomen and Becker Counties): No Impacts Reported  (FEMA LNO)
  • There are no unmet needs.

Region VIII:

  • RRCC is at Level II - 24/7 (closed overnight due to snow; will stand back up at 6:30 a.m. MDT); ESFs 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 15, DCE and a representative from the National Weather Service.
  • ERT-A deployed to Bismarck, ND
  • IMAT-West deployed to Bismarck, ND
  • Denver MERS deployed to Bismarck, ND; MERS equipment is staged in Bismarck and Fargo
  • Two FEMA Region VIII Liaison Officers are deployed to the ND EOC
  • 1- Region VIII GIS Specialist is active at the ND EOC
  • Two US&R Specialists will deploy to Fargo and Bismarck, ND
  • FEMA has established an Operational Area Field Office in Fargo, ND
  • The Initial Operating Facility (IOF) is located at the State EOC in Bismarck, ND
  • 10 FEMA Individual Assistance (IA) Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA) Teams will deploy today; the teams will be staged at Bismarck, ND

North Dakota

  • State EOC Level I - 24/7
  • President approved FEMA-1829-DR on March 24, 2009
  • Local, state and Federal officials, at the direction of Governor Hoeven, engaged Advanced Explosives Demolition (AED) Team to address a major ice jam south of Bismarck. Demolition activities took place on March 25 with a gradual relief of the ice jam.
  • The second demolition mission was conducted at 11:15 p.m. CDT. The river receded by 2 feet.
  • The third demolition for Bismarck has been postponed to Friday, March 27, 2009 (anticipated prior to noon CDT.) 
  • An additional demolition load is currently being transported via ground from Utah.  The shipment will serve as a back-up load and consists of 3000 sticks of C4 and 15,000 feet of detonation cord.
  • The City of Fargo is building/topping off earthen levees, building a sandbag dike and deploying HESCO flood protection
  • Evacuations:
  • Approximately 1,500 people were evacuated from Burleigh County on March 25
  • Approximately 86 people were evacuated from Cass County on March 26
  • The State anticipates a mandatory evacuation of approximately 100,000 people in Fargo today.
  • Approximately 30,000 individuals are expected to require sheltering
  • The Fargo Mayor issued a mandatory evacuation for 52nd Avenue South to University.  A residential care facility and approximately 40 homes are impacted by this order. 
  • The Fargo Police Department is issuing a mandatory evacuation of all residences east of 4th Street South between South River Rd. and Lindenwood Dr. There has been a flood protection breech at
  • Linden Ave. east of 4th St. South due to the immediate threat of rising flood water.  The City of Fargo is ordering a mandatory evacuation.
  • People are being sheltered at the Fargo South Campus II.
  • The Fargo Emergency Manager said they are going to try to raise the dikes one more foot.  They are currently at 43 feet.
  • North Dakota is evacuating all locations below the 43 foot level.  
  • The states initial estimate is 290 hospital patients (2 private hospitals - 265 and 1 VA hospital 25), 1,500 nursing home/assisted living patients, and 1,500 medical special needs patients.  Patients at two private Hospitals will be evacuated tonight via 40 ambulances to Minneapolis tonight. 
  • Shelters: 4 / Occupants: 71 (47 in Bismarck, 24 in Buella)
  • ARC deployed 22 Shelter Management Teams, 28 Emergency Response Vehicles and 4 shelter trailers to ND with a total load of 3,200 comfort kits, 6,500 blankets and 3,200 cots
  • A Boil Water Order for City of Washburn residents is expected to continue for three to four weeks
  • As of 8:00 a.m. EDT March 25, the ND DOE Services reports several counties with power outages. Specific customer outage data have not been reported

South Dakota

  • The EOC is activated to coordinate the state response and provide resource assistance to impacted counties and communities
  • On March 25, Governor Rounds signed an emergency declaration to help with flood response efforts
  • The State has dispatched the following resources to Brown County:
  • 50 Department of Corrections inmates for sandbagging operations
  • 50,000 sandbags
  • Two National Guard Hemmets
  • Four National Guard boats
  • Hamlin County implemented voluntary evacuations
  • One shelter with 38 people in Walworth County
  • There are concerns about potential evacuation of 200 people from Bullhead; all Sioux County roads on the Reservation are closed due to snow
  • Communities of Fox Island, Southport, Linton, Beulah and West Mott have issued mandatory evacuations
  • Numerous counties are reporting power outages; however, the total number of customers affected is not known
  • American Red Cross is providing 22 shelter management teams, 33 Emergency Response Vehicles   and 10 shelter trailers
  • US Army Corps of Engineers continues to provide support for levee construction and sandbagging operations. Power teams will arrive tomorrow to begin assessing generator needs
  • Tribal LNO deployed to Red River reservation
  • State Support Team being identified

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean:
No current tropical cyclone warnings.(NOAA, HPC, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)
Eastern Pacific:
There are no current tropical cyclone warnings. (NOAA, HPC, National Hurricane Center, Central Pacific Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center)
Western Pacific:
No tropical cyclone activity affecting U.S territories in the Western Pacific. (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

An Emergency Declaration was approved for the State of Minnesota (FEMA-3304-EM) for severe storms and flooding March 16 and continuing.  Assistance includes providing emergency protective measures (Category B), including direct Federal assistance, under the Public Assistance program at 75 percent Federal funding for 7 counties.(FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Thursday, 04-Jun-2009 16:26:38 EDT