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National Situation Update: Saturday, November 7, 2009

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

West:
Most of the region will be dry, but two additional weather systems will hit the Pacific Northwest this weekend. Precipitation is forecast from northern California to Washington and eastward to Montana and Wyoming. The heaviest accumulations of two to four inches of rain will fall in western Washington and northwest Oregon. Up to a foot of snow will fall in the higher elevations.

Northeast:
Under high pressure the region will be dry and cold. Morning temperatures will drop into the 20s and 30s in New England and highs will range from near 40 in Maine to near 70 in West Virginia.

Midwest:
A cold front will move through the northern part of the region producing just a few showers around the Great Lakes.

South:
Under high pressure the region will be dry with the exception of a few showers along the southeast coast of Florida. Easterly winds in the northern Gulf of Mexico may cause localized coastal flooding in Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Tomorrow a trough of low pressure moving out of the Southwest will produce rain across southern Texas. Tropical Depression Ida is forecast to move through the Yucatan Channel tomorrow and into the Gulf of Mexico. See the discussion below and www.nhc.noaa.gov/ for the latest warnings. (NOAA’s National Weather Service, Various Media Sources)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No activity. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic
Tropical Storm IDA
At 4:00 am EST, November 7, 2009, the center of Tropical Storm Ida was located about 975 miles SSE of New Orleans, LA or 530 miles SSW of Key West, FL. Ida is moving toward the north near 8 mph. A turn toward the NNW with a gradual increase in forward speed is expected over the next couple of days. On the forecast track, Ida will be approaching the Yucatan Channel on Sunday.
Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 45 mph with higher gusts.  Some additional strengthening is forecast during the next day or two. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center.

Eastern Pacific
Shower and thunderstorm activity remains limited in association with an area of low pressure located about 150 miles south-southwest of Puerto San José, Guatemala.  Upper-level winds are not conducive for significant development of this system as it moves slowly northeastward. There is a low chance (less than 30 percent) of this system becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.

Central Pacific
No tropical cyclones are expected through Sunday evening.

Western Pacific 
No activity threatening United States Territories. (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)

Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level:  1
National Fire Activity as of Friday, November 6, 2009
Initial attack activity:  Light (61 new fires)
New large fires:  0
Large fires contained:  0
Uncontained large fires:  0
States affected:  AZ (NIFC) 

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Monday, 09-Nov-2009 08:13:28 EST