Friday, September 16, 2011

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Significant National Weather

Midwest
A stationary front extending from the western Gulf Coast northward to the northern High Plains will bring gulf moisture into the Southern Plains in the form of showers and thunderstorms on Friday. The moisture will gradually move northward over the Plains Friday night into Saturday with showers and thunderstorms expanding into the Central/Northern Plains and into parts of the Middle Mississippi Valley.
Northeast
Cold high pressure over the Great Lakes will slowly move to northern New England by Saturday evening. The high will bring below average temperatures to the eastern two thirds of the U.S. Showers and thunderstorms can be expected over parts of the Carolinas into southeastern Virginia through Saturday. Heavy rain is possible along the Carolina outer banks.

South

A weak cold front drifting southeast from the Ohio-Tennessee Valley region will bring scattered showers and a thunderstorm or two to the Southeast. In the wake of the front, a cooler and drier airmass will overspread much of the region by Sunday. The cool temperatures will last another day across the Southern Plains before temperature again warm into the 90s this weekend.

West

Showers and thunderstorms are forecast over parts of the Intermountain West Friday into Saturday morning. Scattered rain can be expected along parts of the Washington state coast Friday night into Saturday morning. The very slow moving low that has brought significant rain to much of the Southwest since last Saturday will begin to move out of the region as a much drier High pressure system settles in the weekend.
Northeast and Atlantic Storms Response/Recovery

New York
Numerous road and bridge closures remain in effect and 8 shelters are open with 324 occupants. Fourteen fixed and 2 mobile Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) are open.
New Jersey
The New Jersey ROIC is at Level I (Steady State). Three shelters are open with 114 occupants.
Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Four shelters are open with 36 occupants.
Pennsylvania
Approximately 1,300 customers remain without power and 2,900 customers remain without natural gas. Boil water advisories remain in effect in 12 counties, impacting over 23,000 residents and 8 shelters are open with 202 occupants.

Virginia
One shelter is open with 132 occupants.

Tucson, AZ Flooding

As of 4:30 p.m. Thursday, nearly 3 inches of rain had fallen at the Tucson International Airport, setting a record for rain for September 15th.Â* This is also the second wettest September day on record and the fifth wettest day of all time in Tucson.Â* The 5.57 inches of rain so far this month make it the wettest September on record, breaking the old record of 5.11 inches in 1964.Â* The monsoon total of 8.59 inches since June 15th ranks as the tenth wettest monsoon on record.
By late Thursday evening, the showers and thunderstorms had generally ended across most of the Tucson Metro Area.Â* However, the heavy rains from earlier in the day caused flash flooding along numerous river locations in the Tucson area.Â* The Santa Cruz River at Cortaro rose nearly 7 feet in little more than an hour before beginning to recede.Â* The Tucson Fire Rescue reported 12 swift-water rescues and 1 fatality.Â* No evacuations were ordered, no shelters were opened and there was no request for State or Federal assistance.

Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic / Caribbean /Gulf
Hurricane Maria
At 5:00 a.m. EDT, Hurricane Maria was located 495 miles west southwest of Cape Race, Newfoundland, moving northeast near 45 mph. This general motion with a gradual increase in forward speed is expected today followed by a turn to the north-northeast and additional acceleration by tonight. Maximum sustained winds are near 80 mph, with higher gusts. Maria is a Category 1 Hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. Hurricane force winds extend outward 45 miles and tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 205 miles.

Eastern Pacific
Area 1
At 2:00 a.m. EDT, cloudiness and showers associated with a weak area of low pressure centered about 275 miles southwest of Acapulco, Mexico, remain disorganized. This system has a LOW chance (10%), of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours as it moves west-northwestward at about 10 to 15 mph.
Central Pacific
There are no tropical cyclones expected through Saturday evening.
Western Pacific
There are no tropical cyclones threatening U.S. Territories.
Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Wildfire Update

National Fire Activity
Thursday, September 15, 2011:

• National Preparedness Level: 4
• Initial attack activity: Moderate (226 new fires)
• New Large Fires: 5
• Large Fires Contained: 8
• Uncontained Large Fires: 28
• Type 1 IMT Committed: 7
• Type 2 IMT Committed: 13
• States affected: OK, TX, OR, WA, CA, ID, MT, and MN.

Texas
Bastrop County Complex Fire Update (Bastrop County, TX)
FEMA-2958-FM-TX was approved Sep 4, 2011. As of September 14 the area burned remained at 34,068 acres but the fire is now 80 (+5) percent contained. Approximately 1,554 homes have been destroyed. The Texas State EOC is at Level II (Escalated Response), and there are 2 shelters open with 11 occupants.

Disaster Declaration Activity

Major Disaster Declaration FEMA-4033-DR-New Jersey
The President signed a Major Disaster Declaration for the State of New Jersey, effective September 15, 2011, for Severe Storms and Flooding that occurred August 13-15, 2011. The Declaration provides Public Assistance for Cumberland, Gloucester, and Salem Counties. Individual Assistance is under review. All counties in the State of New Jersey are eligible to apply for assistance under the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.
Amendment #11 to FEMA-1981-DR-North Dakota
Effective September 14, 2011, the Major Disaster Declaration FEMA-1981-DR-ND, dated May 10, 2011, is amended to appoint Deanne Criswell as the Federal Coordinating Officer for this disaster.
Amendment #3 to FEMA-3309-EM-North Dakota
Effective September 14, 2011, the Emergency Declaration FEMA-3309-EM for the State of North Dakota, dated March 14, 2010, is amended to appoint Deanne Criswell as the Federal Coordinating Officer for this emergency.
Amendment #6 to FEMA-4022-DR-Vermont
Effective September 15, 2011, the Major Disaster Declaration FEMA-4022-DR for the State of Vermont, dated September 1, 2011, is amended to include Franklin, Lamoille, and Orleans Counties for Individual Assistance (already designated for Public Assistance, including direct federal assistance).


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