National Situation Update: Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

South:
Showers and thunderstorms will continue to impact the Southeast as a cold front moves out of the region. Heavy rain and strong to severe storms may affect portions of northern Florida to the eastern Carolinas. Flood Warnings remain in effect for several rivers across the region.
Midwest:
An upper-level low will move through the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes today. As a result, precipitation is likely to affect portions of Illinois, southeast Wisconsin, southern Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky. An upper-level ridge will move in from the west, producing above average temperatures and dry conditions across the Plains and Upper Midwest. Flood Warnings continue for the Red River in Minnesota and North Dakota. The North Dakota tributaries of the Red River continue to rise due to snowmelt runoff making its way into the river system. Expect overnight lows at or above freezing in most places for the next several days. This will allow for continuous melting 24 hours a day and accelerate the current runoff.
West:
A strong upper trough will impact the West, producing lower elevation rain and high terrain snow across the interior Northwest and southward into Nevada, Utah and far northern Arizona. Snow totals for the mountains may be in the three- to four-foot range. Strong winds are expected across portions of California, Nevada, Utah and into the Southwest. Blowing dust may affect visibility in some areas.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 6:00 am MDT Friday for southern Montana and north-central Wyoming. A High Wind Warning will be in effect from 12:00 pm PDT Tuesday to 12:00 pm PDT Wednesday for the San Joaquin Valley and Kern County Mountains and Deserts in southern California. Winds are anticipated to reach 30-35 mph, gusting to 75 mph; possible for blowing dust to reduce visibility to near zero in the Kern Desert.
Northeast:
An upper low and developing secondary surface low off the East Coast will continue to bring rain to portions of the Mid-Atlantic. A total of an inch or more is expected, to include Baltimore, MD and Washington, D.C. Flood Warnings continue for rivers in northern Maine. (National Weather Service, Various media Sources)

Region IV Flooding, Tornadoes and Severe Weather

RRCC at Level III, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. EDT
RIV IMAT deployed to FL EOC with select staff and select ESFs
FEMA LNOs deployed to GA EOC and to FL EOC
FEMA SA elements supporting FL DEM flood surveys

Florida (Severe Storms and Flooding beginning March 26):

State EOC Level II, 7:00 am - 7:00 pm EDT
The Governor requested a major disaster declaration on April 10
2 confirmed fatalities (Okaloosa County)
2 shelters; population: 15 (Madison and Suwannee counties)
Joint IA and PA PDAs ongoing
11 IA PDAs requested, 6 completed and 5 ongoing
16 PA PDAs requested, 13 completed and 3 ongoing
Essential Service Centers (ESCs) are scheduled to open in Hamilton and Madison counties today.
Voluntary evacuations continue for low lying areas in 6 counties.
U.S. 90 remains closed at Madison and Suwannee County Line.

Tennessee (Tornadoes and Severe weather April 10):

State EOC activated to Level III (Emergency/Minor Disaster)
Several confirmed tornado touchdowns in Murfreesboro (Rutherford County) occurred April 10
Tennessee EMA reported damages in several locations affecting 13 counties
11 Joint IA and PA PDAs requested and will begin today

Georgia (Severe Weather and Tornadoes April 10-11):

EOC Level III (Normal activation)
Reports of multiple tornado touch downs - Friday night
21 counties in North Georgia affected
Numerous reports of wind and hail damage, trees down and power outages
Undetermined number of homes/structures damaged
Several roads closed - debris on roadways
Reports of injuries but no reports of fatalities
One nursing home evacuated due to windows blown out
Patients transported to VA hospital and other medical facilities

Georgia (Severe Storms and Flooding):

EOC activated Level III (Normal Operations)
56 counties impacted
1 confirmed fatality / 2 injuries
All shelters closed
26 IA PDAs requested, 17 completed and 9 ongoing
39 PA PDAs requested, 18 completed and 21 ongoing

Alabama (Severe Weather and Tornadoes April 10):

State EOC remains at Level III (Partial Activation)
Severe weather was reported in 11 counties in Alabama. Residential damage reported in Marshall and DeKalb Counties; trees and power lines down throughout the State
Damage assessments ongoing
IA PDAs scheduled to begin today
Additional severe weather impacted the state on April 13, resulting in downed trees and one reported tornado in Geneva County; unknown damages.

South Carolina (Severe Weather and Tornadoes April 10-11):

State EOC activated at Operating Condition III
Numerous severe thunderstorms and reports of 8 tornado touchdowns occurred throughout the State late Friday into Saturday
Ten counties reported damages and power outages

Kentucky (Severe Weather and Tornadoes April 10):

State EOC remains at Level I (Normal Operations)
The KY EM reported two tornado touchdowns in Christian County April 10
Three counties (Calloway, Union, and Lyon) have experienced wind damage to local residences.
Damage assessments ongoing

Region VI Severe Weather and Wildfires:

RRCC at Watch/Steady State, 7:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. CDT
State LNOs are on stand-by to report to Louisiana EOC, Oklahoma EOC and the Texas SOC and Arkansas EOC if requested
Two IA PDA teams begin assessments today
Region VI IMAT Team on stand by
All FMAG wildfires are more than 50% contained.

Arkansas Tornado

State EOC has returned to Level 1 (normal operations)
Tornado touchdowns reported in Mena (Polk County); 11 counties sustained damage
2 shelters; population unknown
3 IA PDAs requested, 1 completed and 2 ongoing

Texas Fires

State SOC is at Level I
6 FMAGs approved Friday, April 10
All FMAG wildfires more than 50% contained
Preliminary estimates: 91 residential homes destroyed, more than 200 head of livestock injured or destroyed and numerous reports of additional loss to property.
Damage Assessment Teams (DATS) will be conducting damage surveys in the coming week.

Oklahoma Fires

State EOC has returned to Level I (Normal Operations)
5 FMAGs approved April 10
All FMAG wildfires 100% contained
1 IA PDA requested and scheduled to begin today.

Red River Flood Preparations

Region VIII:

RRCC at Watch/Steady State, 6:30 a.m. - 6:30 p.m. PDT

North Dakota:

State EOC activated at Level 1, 24/7
The stage of the Red River at Fargo, ND was 32.69 feet as of 12:15 a.m. EDT Tuesday, up about 0.58 foot in the past 24 hours. The river is forecast to crest between April 16 and 18, at 38 to 40 feet. The emergency levee is at 46 feet.
The Sheyenne River at Valley City, ND was at
20.58 feet as of 12:15 a.m. EDT Tuesday, and is expected to crest between 21 and 23 feet April 14 to 15, and then hold steady around 21 feet for several days due to reservoir releases from Baldhill Dam. The emergency levee is at 28.7 feet. National Guard is supporting with sandbagging operations.
Valley City (Barnes County) issued a voluntary evacuation for 30 homes at risk for a dike leak.
1 IA PDA (tribal) scheduled; time unknown
38 PA PDAs requested and scheduled to begin on April 15

Region V

RRCC at Watch/Steady State, 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. CDT

Minnesota:

State EOC will resume normal operations today at 8:00 a.m. CDT
Region V Logistics has established an Incident Staging Base (ISB) in Dilworth, MN. All commodities earmarked for Minnesota and previously staged at Grand Forks, ND, NLSA arrived at Dilworth ISB on April 10, 2009
11 PA PDAs requested and will begin today

NOAA March Statistics

U.S. Temperature
Across the Northwest, March temperatures were below average, while the Southwest and Central regions were above normal. Temperatures in the South were slightly above average. Based on NOAA's Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index, the contiguous U.S. temperature-related energy demand was 3.7 percent below average in March.

U.S. Precipitation
Minnesota experienced its second wettest March, and areas of the South were also wetter than normal. It was unusually wet in the upper Midwest, where North Dakota, Minnesota, and South Dakota had their fourth, sixth, and ninth wettest January - March period, respectively. At the end of March, 25 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in moderate-to-exceptional drought, based on the U.S. Drought Monitor. Severe or extreme drought conditions continued in parts of California, Florida, Hawaii, Nevada, South Carolina, Wisconsin, and the southern Plains, with exceptional drought in southern Texas.

Fires, Floods and Snow
Record amounts of snow fell in North Dakota during March. Fargo received 28.1 inches, which was nearly two inches more than the previous March record set in 1997. Fargo also recorded 4.62 inches of precipitation, which set a new monthly record.

Major flooding affected areas along the Minnesota-North Dakota border as the Red River swelled to record and near-record levels. Well-above normal precipitation compounded the flooding potential brought on by extreme precipitation surpluses accumulated during autumn and winter. The six-month precipitation for the October through March period was the wettest on record for much of the Red River's drainage basin in eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota.

Approximately 14,078 wild land fires burned 401,741 acres across the nation in March, according to the National Interagency Coordination Center. The total number of wildfires and acres burned since the start of 2009 are both well above their respective 10-year averages. (Excerpt from www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090410_marchstats.html)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No activity. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

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 significant activity (USGS, Earthquake Hazards Program, Alaska Earthquake Information Center and West Coast/Alaska Tsunami Warning Centers)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Wildfire Update

National Fire Activity
National Preparedness (as of April 13)

Level: 1 (Minimal Activity)
States affected: AR, FL, MN, OK, TX & VA
Initial attack activity: Light (338 new fires)
New Large Fires: 21
Large Fires Contained: 12
Uncontained Large Fires: 25(National Interagency Fire Center)

Disaster Declaration Activity