Monday, January 31, 2011

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Significant National Weather

Midwest
Snow and areas of heavy snow will fall across much of the region as cold high pressure from Canada moves down into the Northern Plains. The winds associated with this system will be nearly 40 degrees below average with gusty winds that will produce blizzard conditions. A wintry mix, including freezing rain, will develop from southern Kansas to the Ohio Valley and light rain is expected from the southern Mid-Mississippi Valley to the Tennessee Valley. Tuesday will be the major storm day with a foot or two of snow forecast from Kansas to the Great Lakes.
South
A band of rain will extend from Texas to the Carolinas and Oklahoma and northern Texas Panhandle will receive sleet and freezing rain. Isolated severe thunderstorm activity is also forecast from Texas across the Southeast. Tomorrow, the precipitation across Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas will change over to a wintry mix and significant snow and icing is expected.
Northeast
New England will be cold and dry. Light rain and freezing rain is expected across Pennsylvania, West Virginia, western Maryland and western Virginia. Tuesday, a disturbance ahead of the storm in the Midwest will produce 3 to 5 inches of snow from New York to New England and a wintry mix in the Mid-Atlantic. By midweek, the main system will produce significant snowfall across Upstate New York and New England. Freezing rain is forecast from Pennsylvania to southeastern Massachusetts and rain is expected in the Mid-Atlantic.
West
A few showers are likely over southern California. Snow is expected across the higher elevations of the Four Corners Region and heavy snow, up to a foot in some areas, is forecast for the Central and Southern Rockies. Rain showers and isolated thunderstorms are forecast for the lower elevations of Arizona and New Mexico.
(NOAA and various media sources)

Major Winter Storm

The FEMA National Watch Center and FEMA Regions II, III, IV, V, VI, and VII are monitoring the severe winter weather expected for the center of the nation during the next few days. FEMA Incident Management Assistance Teams are on alert and FEMA Liaison Officers are ready to deploy to state Emergency Operations Centers as required. FEMA Logistics pre-positioned water, generators, meals, cots and blankets in Kansas City, Mo., and in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and McAlester, Ok.
There are numerous winter weather Watches, Warnings, and Advisories in effect around the country. The latest information is available on the National Weather Service website, www.weather.gov/largemap.php.
(FEMA HQ, FEMA Regions II â VII, NOAA)
Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Preliminary Damage Assessments

Joint Preliminary Damage Assessments are currently ongoing in New York and Oregon.
(FEMA HQ, FEMA Regions II and X)

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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