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National Situation Update: Saturday, February 13, 2010

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

South:
After the recent snowstorms, the Southeast will see drier weather today. Only the coastal areas of the Carolinas will continue to see some snow and wind this morning. Another storm system will move eastward across the Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic Sunday into Monday.  On Sunday, the Ozarks and Tennessee will see snow or rain changing to snow. The system will then move into the southern Appalachians, northern Georgia, and the Carolinas Sunday night into Monday. Showers will move eastward from Louisiana to the southeast coast and north Florida.
West: 
A series of storms will move into Washington, Oregon and northern California and then will quickly weaken as it moves further inland. The heaviest rain and snow will be north of the U.S. border, affecting Vancouver Island and southwest British Columbia. The coastal mountains from northwest California to the Olympics and the lower elevations of the Cascades could see two to four inches of rain while the higher elevations of the Cascades could see several feet of snow. Areas east of the Rockies could see temperatures as low as 15 degrees below zero while the interior West to areas west of the Rockies will see temperatures 5 to 15 degrees above average.
Northeast:
Rain is forecast today for the Northeast with a few snow showers possible around the Great Lakes. Monday into Tuesday, another winter storm - a fast moving “clipper” storm - will reach the Mid-Atlantic coast, bringing more snow across the Virginias, Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The snow could reach southeast New York and southern New England. The I-95 corridor from Philadelphia to Boston could see more than six inches of snow accumulation while parts of Long Island and southern New England could see 8 to 12 inches of snow. Areas southeast of the Great Lakes will see snow showers through next week but snowfall totals will be light.
Midwest:
A fast moving “clipper” storm will move quickly southward from the Dakotas into the mid-Mississippi Valley while a cold front will move southward through the Plains. The storm will extend from eastern North Dakota to Missouri and will bring two to four inches of snow, with up to six inches locally. On Sunday,  the clipper storm will move east across the Ohio Valley, bringing snow accumulations of three to seven inches across Kentucky and neighboring areas of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio.(NOAA’s National Weather Service, the Hydro Meteorological Prediction Center and various media sources) 

Southern U.S. Winter Storm

Louisiana and Texas saw record amounts of snow over the last 48 hours. In Louisiana, some locations in the Shreveport-Bossier City area received more than eight inches of snow, while in Texas, some locations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area received in excess of 12 inches of snow. The heavy, wet snow caused about 180,000 customers in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to lose power while Entergy Louisiana reported 19,949 customers without power. More than 200 flights were cancelled at Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. State offices and schools were closed.
FEMA Region IV
RRCC is at Watch/Steady State. Mississippi EOC has returned to Level 4 (Normal Operations). Alabama EOC is at Level 3 (Partial Activation). There have been no requests for Federal assistance.
FEMA Region VI
RRCC is at Watch/Steady State. Texas EOC is at Level 1 (Emergency Conditions).

Winter Storm Recovery – Feb 5 -11, 2010

Record snowfall was recorded in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Wilmington, DE
FEMA Region II
RRCC is at Watch/Steady State. There have been no requests for Federal assistance.
New York 
State EOC is at Level 2.
New Jersey
State EOC is at Level III. State offices will be closed today. There are 44,000 customers without power. Six shelters are open; 86 occupants.
FEMA Region III
The RRCC has returned to Watch/Steady State. All State Liaison Officers (SLO) have been released except for West Virginia. There have been no requests for Federal assistance.
Delaware
SEOC is partially activated. State of Emergency was lifted at 6:00 p.m. EST, February 12. There are 920 customers without power. One shelter open; 2 occupants. Public schools will remain closed until February 16. All roads should be cleared by 5:00 p.m. EST, February 13.
Washington, District of Columbia
DC HSEMA deactivated at 6:00 p.m. EST February 11, 2010. There were 600 customers without power as of 8:00 a.m. EST, February 12. Public schools will remain closed until February 16.
Virginia
VDEM remains activated at “Response Operations” with minimal staff augmentation. Power has been restored to all customers. Flight operations at Dulles International and Washington Reagan National have resumed. Virginia Rail Express (VRE), Metro subway and Metro bus services are at limited operations. All local shelters have closed. There are four confirmed storm related fatalities.
West Virginia
WVDHSEM is partially activated. There are 2,835 customers without power. Three shelters are open; 40 occupants.
Pennsylvania
PEMA is deactivated to Level III. There are 14,800 customers without power. Current shelter numbers not available. Three storm related fatalities have been confirmed.
Maryland
MEMA is at modified Level III (Minimal Activation). There are 523 customers without power. All shelters have closed. BWI flight operations resumed. MARC train, Metro subway and bus service are operational. Multiple roads remain closed statewide.

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG):

No activity. (FEMA HQ)

Tropical Weather Outlook

At 4:00 a.m. EST on February 13, 2010, Tropical Cyclone Rene was located approximately 103 miles east-northeast of Pago Pago, American Samoa, moving westward at 7 mph. Infrared imagery indicates that the system has consolidated and slowed over the past six hours. Maximum sustained winds were 86 mph with gusts to 103 mph at the reporting time.  NWS forecasts winds to reach 92 mph with gusts to 115 mph over the next 12 hours.(NWS; NOAA) 

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

The Governor of California has requested a major disaster declaration as a result of severe winter storms, record-breaking snow, flooding, debris, and mud flows beginning on January 17, 2010, and continuing. The Governor is specifically requesting Public Assistance, including direct Federal assistance, for Calaveras, Imperial, Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Francisco, and Siskiyou counties and Hazard Mitigation statewide. (FEMA HQ) 

Last Modified: Tuesday, 16-Feb-2010 09:12:29 EST