Tuesday, September 7, 2010

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Significant National Weather

West
Scattered rain is likely over parts of the Northwest through Wednesday as an upper level low moves from the Northwest southward to northern California and northeastward into the Northern Rockies/Northern Intermountain region by Wednesday.
Midwest
The Upper Mississippi Valley southward to the Southern Plains/Rockies will see showers and thunderstorms ahead of a cold front while the Northern Plains to the Upper Great Lakes will see light to moderate rain. Tropical Storm Hermine will bring moderate rain with embedded thunderstorms over the western Gulf Coast into the Southern Plains and parts of the Middle Mississippi Valley through Wednesday.
Northeast
The region should be dry except for some showers from the Great Lakes to northern New England and northern New York. Temperatures in the region will be warmer than average.
SouthÂ*
The risk of heavy showers and thunderstorms increase along the South Texas and Louisiana coasts as tropical moisture begins to work its way northward. Showers and thunderstorms are also expected across the Florida Peninsula and near the Gulf Coast. Parts of west Texas and western Oklahoma, including the Panhandles, should see warmer than average temperatures.Â*
(NOAA and media sources)

NOAA Reopens More of the Gulf of Mexico to Fishing

On Friday, September 3, 2010, NOAA reopened 3,114 square miles of Gulf waters offshore of the western Florida panhandle to commercial and recreational fishing. Trajectory models show the area is at a low risk for future exposure to oil, and fish caught in the area and tested by NOAA experts have shown no signs of contamination. At its closest point, the area to be reopened is about 55 miles northeast of the Deepwater/BP wellhead. The closed area now covers 39,885 square miles, or about 17 percent of the federal waters in the Gulf, which was 37 percent at its height on June 2. The boundary of the fishery closure has changed 27 times after it was first instituted on May 2. NOAA will continue to evaluate the need for fisheries closures and will continue to re-open closed areas as appropriate. For more information on NOAA Fisheries Closures, visit the NOAA Fisheries Service web site at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/index.htmlÂ*
Deepwater Horizon Blow Out Preventer (BOP) Removed from the Gulf of Mexico

On Saturday, September 4, 2010,Â* the damaged Deepwater Horizon Blowout Preventer (BOP) and the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) Cap, were removed from the Gulf of Mexico. The removed BOP is considered evidentiary material, and is now under the supervision of the Deepwater Horizon Criminal Investigation Team and FBI Evidence Recovery Team.
(Deepwater Horizon JIC)

Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) Activity

An FMAG was approved on September 6 for the Fourmile Canyon Fire that began on September 6, and continuing.Â*(HQ FEMA)Â*
Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of MexicoÂ*
Tropical Storm Hermine is located 35 miles west of Corpus Christi, Texas moving north-northwest at 17 mph. The storm has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph with tropical storm force winds extending 105 miles out from the center. Hermine is forecast to weaken further during the next 48 hours and is expected to become a Tropical Depression later today. A tropical storm warning is in effect for the mouth of the Rio Grande northward to Port OâConnor, Texas.
Tropical storm conditions are expected to move north into central southern Texas today. Rainfall accumulations of 4 to 8 inches are expected, with isolated maximum amounts of 12 inches possible, from southern Texas northward through central and northern Texas and over central and eastern Oklahoma. These rains will continue to spread northeastward across southeast Kansas, northwest Arkansas, and Missouri during the next few days. The heavy rainfall could cause life-threatening flash floods.
In addition to Hermine, there are three areas of limited risk in the Atlantic Basin. One system is the remnants of the former tropical storm once named Gaston. The circulation on this system remains poorly defined and there is a low chance, near 10 percent, of it becoming a tropical cyclone again during the next 48 hours.Â*
There is another weak low pressure area located about 350 miles west of the Cape Verde Islands but it also has a low chance, near 10 percent, of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.
And finally, a third area of thunderstorms is associated with a tropical wave just off the African coast but it also has only a 10 percent chance of developing into a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.
Central, Eastern and Western Pacific
No tropical cyclone activity is expected in the next 48 hours.
(NOAA, JTWC)Â*
Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level: 2
National Fire Activity as of Monday, September 6, 2010:Â*
Initial attack activity was light with 96 new fires, including two new large fires but no large fires contained. There are eight uncontained large fires under full suppression strategy affecting Arkansas, California, Idaho, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Wyoming. (NIFC)
Colorado Wildfire
The Fourmile Canyon Fire in Boulder County, CO began September 6 and has burned over 3,500 acres. The fire is currently uncontained and high winds hindered the firefight overnight. Several structures, including homes, have been destroyed but no injuries are reported. Highway 19 and several roads through Boulder Canyon are closed. The fire is threatening 250 homes and mandatory evacuations were ordered for approximately 1,000 homes in the area. Voluntary evacuation of the Boulder Heights area has also started. Three American Red Cross shelters and one large animal shelter were established.(HQ FEMA)

Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)


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