Monday, December 20, 2010
 

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Significant Weather

West
Portions of northwest California could pick up an additional four inches of rain, while the mountains around Los Angeles could receive another six inches of rain. An additional six to eight feet of snow is possible in mountainous areas above 9000 feet. In Colorado, snow will continue in the Sierra, Wasatch, and Colorado Rockies with the heaviest snow expected to fall from the top of the Grand Mesa to the Elk Mountains, including the area surrounding Crested Butte. Winds gusting between 50 and 80 mph are forecast across the High Plains and southeast Colorado.
Midwest
Four to eight inches of snow is forecast from North Dakota to Wisconsin and northern Illinois. A wintry mix is expected from South Dakota to central Illinois. Freezing rain will change to rain in Missouri and showers will progress into the lower Ohio Valley.
Northeast
Significant snow is expected for Cape Cod and Nantucket and northward from eastern Massachusetts to southern Maine and New Hampshire. A few more inches of lake-effect snow is possible through Tuesday off Lakes Erie and Ontario and will likely add to the record snow accumulation in Syracuse, N.Y.
South
The Southeast will see temperatures five to ten degrees below average from North Carolina to Florida. Highs will range from the upper 30s and 40s in North Carolina to the low 70s in Miami. The cold weather outlier will be Texas and Oklahoma where temperatures will be 5 to 25 degrees above average with highs ranging from the 60s and low 70s in Oklahoma and the Texas Panhandle, to the low 80s in southern Texas.
(NOAA and various media sources)
Severe Storms and Flooding - California

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The strong Pacific storm that began Friday has already produced up to 10 inches of rain in portions of California including six inches of rain in San Luis Obispo County. Snow accumulations thus far range from two to eight feet in the higher elevations. Residents in areas where wildfires have destroyed nearby ground cover are on alert for mudslides. No major river flooding is anticipated. Some areas are experiencing numerous road closures, rail transit disruptions, and some homes have been evacuated due to localized flooding. FEMA Region IX remains at Watch/Steady State and is monitoring the situations but there are no requests for FEMA assistance at this time.
(FEMA Region IX, FEMA HQ)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Wildfire Update

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)
No activity.
(FEMA HQ)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Stay informed of FEMA's activities online: videos and podcasts available at www.fema.gov/medialibrary and www.youtube.com/fema ; follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/fema and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/fema.


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