Wednesday, November 23, 2011

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Significant National Weather:

West:
A front along the Northwest Coast will slowly move inland to the northern Rockies/Northern California by Thursday. This system will produce light to moderate rain along the Pacific Northwest, into Northern California through this evening. Snow in higher elevations with lower elevation rain will develop over parts of the Interior Northwest and the Northern Intermountain Region and Northern Rockies. Highs will range from 20s in the higher elevations of the Washington Cascades to 80s in the deserts of southern Arizona and southeastern California.
Midwest:
A storm over the Ohio Valley will move northeastward to the Southeast Coast of Canada by Thursday morning. The system will produce light to moderate rain from parts of the Ohio Valley/Great Lakes to the northeast through this afternoon. The rain will change to snow overnight, ending by Thursday morning. Highs will range from the 30s in northern parts of Minnesota to the 60s in the Central Plains
South:
Showers and thunderstorms will develop along the associated cold front from the Southern Ohio Valley to the Central Gulf Coast, moving eastward to the Mid-Atlantic/Southeast Coast this morning while lingering over the southern tip of Florida by Thursday. Highs will range from around 50 in the Southern Appalachians to the 80s in South and Central Florida.
Northeast:
Rain in the morning across the region will slowly taper off from west to east as the day progresses, with a few showers possible along the coast tonight. Snow and wintry mix in northern New York and Northern New England should also begin to taper off this afternoon and evening, with a few snow showers possible this evening and overnight in eastern Maine. Up to 12 inches of snow is possible from northern New Hampshire to southern Maine. Highs will range from the 20s in northern Maine to the 60s near Chesapeake and Delaware Bays. (NOAA, National Weather Service and media sources)
Southern California Landslide:

Sunday afternoon following heavy rains, a 600 square foot section of a Southern California coastal roadway in San Pedro, CA, fell 100 feet into the Pacific Ocean. There were no injuries or property damage reported, however, engineers report the highway section is irreparable.
Landslides and Water Background:
The term landslide includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rock falls, deep failure of slopes, and shallow debris flows. Other contributing factors include; erosion by rivers, glaciers, or ocean waves create over-steepened slopes, rock and soil slopes are weakened through saturation by snowmelt or heavy rains, earthquakes of magnitude 4.0 and greater have been known to trigger landslides. Excess weight from accumulation of rain or snow, stockpiling of rock or ore, from waste piles, or from man-made structures may stress weak slopes to failure and other structures. Earthen material that becomes saturated with water may develop a debris flow or mud flow. The resulting slurry of rock and mud may pick up trees, houses, and cars, thus blocking bridges and tributaries causing flooding along its path. Landslides occur in every state and U.S. territory. The Appalachian Mountains, the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Coastal Ranges and some parts of Alaska and Hawaii have severe landslide problems. Any area composed of very weak or fractured materials resting on a steep slope can and will likely experience landslides.
Space Weather:

No space weather storms were observed during the past 24 hours and none are predicted.Â*
Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic / Caribbean / Gulf
No significant tropical cyclone activity.
Eastern Pacific
Hurricane Kenneth
At 4:00 a.m. EST, the center of Hurricane Kenneth was located about 840 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California. Kenneth is moving west near 9 mph. A turn toward the west-northwest is expected later today and this motion should continue through Thursday. Kenneth is a Category Two hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale and continued weakening is expected during the next 48 hours. Hurricane Kenneth could weaken to a tropical storm by Thursday. Hurricane force winds extend outward up to 35 miles from the center and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 105 miles.
Central/Western Pacific:
No significant tropical cyclone activity.
Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Wildfire Update

No significant activity.
Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)


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