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National Situation Update: Friday, March 5, 2010

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED).

Significant National Weather

West:
The next Pacific storm will move onshore today producing rain and mountain snow.  Precipitation will work its way down the coast from Washington and Oregon to Southern California by tomorrow morning. The rainfall total in Southern California should be less than one inch but the potential exists for mudslides especially in burn areas. The system over the Central Rockies will produce light rainfall in lower elevations. Snowfall totals will range from four inches in Nevada to eight to 16 inches in Utah and Wyoming.
Midwest:
The low pressure system moving out of the Rockies will produce a wintry mix in the Northern Plains and rain in the Central Plains.  To the East, the high pressure centered over the Great Lakes will mean partly cloudy skies for the Great Lakes, Mississippi and Ohio valleys.
South:
Under high pressure, the region will have partly cloudy skies with unseasonably cool temperatures.  High temperatures will range from the upper 30s in the mountains to the middle 50s in the lower elevations.
Northeast:
The deep low over the Atlantic will continue to produce a few snow showers from New Jersey to New England.  (NOAA’s National Weather Service, Hydro Meteorological Prediction Center, and various media sources) 

Newest NOAA Geostationary Satellite Reaches Orbit

 NOAA and NASA officials announced a new Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES), launched last night, successfully reached its initial orbit, joining four other GOES spacecraft that help NOAA forecasters track life-threatening weather and solar activity.

 “Our geostationary satellites are the nation’s weather sentinels in the sky,” said Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator. “With more than 35 million Americans living in hurricane prone areas and more than 1,000 tornadoes touching down in the U.S. annually, we need the reliable, accurate data that these satellites provide.”

GOES-P is the final spacecraft in the latest series of NOAA geostationary satellites, capturing higher resolution images of weather patterns and atmospheric measurements than those provided by earlier satellites. The higher resolution allows forecasters to pinpoint the location of severe weather with greater accuracy.

GOES-P also provides better data for space and solar weather thanks to its Solar X-Ray Imager. The SXI imager is to space weather forecasting what satellite images are to hurricane forecasting. This data will improve forecasts and warnings for solar disturbances, protecting billions of dollars of commercial and government assets in space and on the ground. This vital information will also reduce the effect of power surges for the satellite-based electronics and communications industry.

On March 4, GOES-P will be placed in its final orbit and renamed GOES-15. Once it reaches geostationary orbit, GOES-P will undergo a series of tests for approximately six months before completing its “check-out” phase. After check out, GOES-P will be placed into orbital storage and remain ready for activation if one of the operational GOES fail.

Since the first GOES launch in 1974, these satellites have supplied the data critical for fast, accurate weather forecasts and warnings, detecting solar storm activity and relaying distress signals from emergency beacons. (NOAA, excerpt from http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2010/20100304_satellite.html ) 

Tropical Weather Outlook

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

There were no significant earthquakes in the United States or its territories.
 (USGS; WCATWC; PTWC) 

Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)

Last Modified: Friday, 05-Mar-2010 08:10:26 EST