Thursday, May 27, 2010

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Significant National Weather

West:
A low pressure system will move into the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies producing rain showers and thunderstorms in California, Oregon, Idaho, Nevada and Washington.Â* On Friday, high pressure and drier conditions will settle into the Pacific Northwest in the afternoon and evening.Â*Â*Â*
Midwest:
A cold front will move out of Canada into the Northern Plains producing showers and thunderstorms. Severe thunderstorms will develop over the next two days across Montana, Utah, Nevada, Wyoming northern Colorado and the High Plains of the Dakotas.Â*
South:
A disturbance off the Southeast coast will bring the threat of showers and thunderstorms to the Southeast. Showers will stretch from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to the southern tip of Florida.
Northeast:
A cold front across the Northeast will produce showers and thunderstorms.Â* The cold front is expected to continue moving south into southern New England and into the Middle Atlantic states tonight into Friday.Â* (NOAAâs National Weather Service, the Hydro Meteorological Prediction Center and media sources)Â*
Mississippi Canyon 252 Update

FEMA Actions
FEMA is supporting the operation by providing personnel to the National Integration Center and additional Logistics and External Affairs support to the Federal On-Scene Coordinator. FEMA is also leading the Social Services and Small Business Interagency Working Group (Claims and Benefits).
Top Kill operations began yesterday afternoon. The Riser Insertion Tube Tool (RITT) was removed yesterday morning to facilitate the start of the Top Kill method. Relief Wells continue to make progress. Over 100 miles of Louisiana shoreline has been impacted by oil; cleanup activities continue. The U.S. Department of Commerce declared a fishery disaster for Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.
Â*(Deepwater Horizon JIC)
NOAA â National Hurricane Preparedness Week Continues

The National Hurricane Preparedness Week theme for today is the tropical forecast process. The Tropical Prediction Center (TPC) aims to save lives and protect property by issuing watches, warnings, forecasts, and analyses of hazardous weather conditions in the tropics. Todayâs information from the National Weather Service provides information about the roles of those responsible for providing hurricane information to emergency managers and decision makers.
The TPC is comprised of the National Hurricane Center, the Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch, and the Technical Support Branch. The local National Weather Service Forecast Offices in hurricane-prone areas are also important participants in the forecast process. The National Hurricane Center and your local Weather Forecast Office have various roles in the forecast process that are closely coordinated. For more information see the National Hurricane Center Web site: www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/forecast_process.shtmlÂ*

Volcanic Activity

The Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska is now at Activity Code Yellow with an Advisory Alert Level. Clouds have obscured satellite views of the volcano over the past 24 hours and no additional volcanic activity has been observed. The lack of a real-time seismic network at the Cleveland Volcano means the Alaska Volcano Observatory is unable to track local earthquake activity related to volcanic unrest. This type of unrest at the Cleveland Volcano is frequent, and short-lived explosions with ash clouds or plumes could exceed 20,000 feet above sea level may occur without warning and go undetected on satellite imagery.
Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG)

No activity to report.Â*Â*(FEMA HQ)Â*
Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic:
Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Eastern Pacific:
A large area of disturbed weather is centered several hundred miles south of the Gulf of Tehuantepec.Â* Conditions are still favorable for gradual development as the disturbance is expected to remain stationary over the next 48 hours. The system has the potential to produce locally heavy rains and flooding over portions of Central America during the next few days. There is a medium chance (50 percent) of this system becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours. Elsewhere, tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.
Western Pacific:Â*
No activity.Â*
(NOAA, JTWC)

Earthquake Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Preliminary Damage Assessments

No new activity (FEMA HQ)
Wildfire Update

National Preparedness Level 1
National Fire Activity as of Wednesday, May 26, 2010:Â*
Initial attack activity: Light (49 new fires), New large fires: 0, Large fires contained: 0
Uncontained large fires: 5, States affected: NM, CO, and AK
(NIFC)
Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)


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