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National Situation Update: Friday, January 22, 2010

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

West                                                        
One of the most significant winter storms in recent history is over the Southwest. Rainfall in central Arizona could locally top 8 inches while snowfall in the higher mountains could range from 4 to 7 feet.
Winds will gust over 65 mph at times causing blizzard conditions, especially over the southeastern Arizona Mountains. Strong wind gusts will also move through the northern mountains by this morning, as a strong cold front moves through.

Thunderstorms are possible across southern Arizona. Areas from southern Utah, eastward across Colorado, and the mountains of northern and western New Mexico will receive several feet of snow. Rain and a few strong thunderstorms continue in Southern California as snow levels drop as low as 3000 feet.

Northeast
A wintry mix of precipitation moves across the Delmarva Peninsula to southern New Jersey. The Baltimore-Washington area will see rain mixed with sleet at times but temperatures should stay above freezing. Some light freezing rain may skim parts of the Philadelphia area by morning. Heavy rain and wind will move over coastal Virginia ending later in the day. Heavy rain will move into Upstate New York and New England on Sunday and Sunday night. Rain and melting snow may produce some very minor flooding problems.

South
Texas will receive an increased amount of rain. Winds will become strong and gusty across the southern high Plains. A strong cold front will move from the southern high Plains early Saturday to the Southeast coast by early Monday. Locally heavy rain and thunderstorms, some severe, will precede the front.

Midwest
The West Coast storm will cross the Rockies and pick up strength as it moves into the Midwest. Freezing rain and a snow/sleet mixture will develop over the north-central states, as rain increases over the central Plains. Saturday the icy mix will change to snow across the Dakotas, but mixed precipitation will continue over Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. Northwest winds will also increase.

Thunderstorms are predicted from eastern Nebraska and Kansas, through the mid-Mississippi Valley, into the southern Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. Sunday, colder air (temperatures returning to average for late January) will change the precipitation completely to snow across the north-central states while the rain in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley begins to move East.   (NOAA, National Weather Service and Media Sources) 

California

The State Operations Center (SOC) is active for the dayshift only. The Cal Southern Region EOC-southern (REOC) is activated 24/7. The following county EOCs are activated: Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino. Two FEMA Region IX LNOs are deployed to the CA State Operations Center in Sacramento. Three FEMA Region IX LNOs are deployed to the Southern REOC in Los Alamitos and will be staffed 24/7. Gubernatorial Emergency Declarations for San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and Siskiyou counties, and the cities of San Francisco, Mt. Shasta, Seal Beach and Sierra Madre.

In Southern California, mandatory evacuations were in effect for the cities of La Cañada/Flintridge, La Crescenta, Acton, Sunland, Big Tujunga, the unincorporated areas of Glendale, and Sierra Madre, primarily due to the potential danger of severe debris flow below recent burn areas in the hills.
Homes evacuated: 2,125, ARC Shelters: 6/overnight population 7.

In Northern California, widespread power outages continued between McCloud and Mt. Shasta City. The greatest overall snow total as of early Friday afternoon was 73.6 inches at Chagoopa Plateau in the Sierra Nevadas in east-central California. Flash Flooding and mud slides were also reported on Wednesday in Ventura and Kern counties, Santa Barbara and Long Beach.

Thunderstorms are possible daily, with isolated severe thunderstorms possible through today. Moderate rises are expected on rivers in the north and the Central Valley areas, with weir flow continuing today on the Sacramento River. There is the continued threat of flash flooding and debris flows in saturated locations. An additional 1 to 4 feet of snow is expected over the mountains. Strong winds are expected to continue.

Arizona

The Governor of Arizona has declared a State of Emergency for 5 counties in response to a series of severe weather storms. An evacuation order is in effect for low lying areas in Gila County. Six ARC shelters opened throughout Arizona with the possibility of more shelters opening due to flooding, power outages and stranded motorists.

Snowfall reports last 24 hours: 17-23 inches around Flagstaff, AZ.  There were numerous reports of flash flooding across roadways in the deserts of southern Arizona, especially in Maricopa (Phoenix area) and Yuma Counties. Additional rain and thunderstorms are expected through today in the lower elevations of Southern and Central Arizona with a possibility of severe flooding, especially across Central Arizona. 

An additional 2 to 4 feet of snow is expected with potential blizzard conditions at the higher elevations.  Very strong winds through tonight with sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph and gusts to 65 mph are predicted.  Power outages are possible. Most roads could become impassable around the Flagstaff area from late today through Saturday due to heavy snow.

Update - Response and Recovery in Haiti (7.0 Earthquake)

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) is the lead U.S. Government (USG) office responsible for providing humanitarian assistance in response to international emergencies and disasters.

FEMA continues to support the rescue efforts in Haiti. FEMA’s Incident Management Assistance Team (IMAT) West and the Mobile Emergency Response Support (MERS) personnel and equipment continue to assist operations.

Six U.S. US&R teams are on the ground in Haiti, joining a larger international force. As of January 21, international and U.S. US&R teams had rescued 122 individuals throughout Port-au-Prince, Haiti.  U.S. US&R teams are credited with rescuing 43 of the 122. Search and rescue activities continue under direction of USAID and the United Nations.

Tropical Weather Outlook

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

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: Friday, 22-Jan-2010 09:03:32 EST