Tuesday, February 15, 2011

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Significant National Weather

Northeast
High pressure will bring an end to any significant lake-effect snow and create a dry day for the region.Â* Morning wind gusts will reach 35 mph across the eastern Mid-Atlantic and 40 to 50 mph across New England.Â* Winds will gradually diminish during the afternoon and should end Tuesday night.Â* New York and New England will experience much colder temperatures of five to 15 degrees below average.
West
Rain, mountain snow, and wind are forecast to continue over western Washington, western Oregon, northern California, and portions of the Great Basin to the northern Rockies.Â* The heaviest rain is expected to fall over western Oregon and northern California with 1-to-4-inch totals possible.Â* The heaviest snowfall will add 1-to-2-foot accumulations to the Oregon Cascades, the Siskiyou and Mount Shasta areas of northern California.Â* The strongest winds will occur along interior southern Oregon, the Sierra, and western Nevada. Wind gusts will range from 55 to 75-mph, but up to 120 mph over the Sierra ridge tops.
Midwest
The Midwest will be mainly dry. However, light showers could develop in northern Missouri and portions of Iowa and Illinois.Â* As high-pressure moves to the East, temperatures will vary from near average in the eastern Ohio Valley to 10 to 25 degrees above average in the Plains, creating the potential for snow/ice melt.Â* The Plains, Mississippi Valley, and western Great Lakes may experience wind gusts of more than 30 mph.
South
The South will be dry with the exception of rain for portions of Texas, Oklahoma, and Arkansas.Â* Temperatures will vary from near average in the Southeast to a warm five to 20 degrees above average in the southern Plains.(National Weather Service, Hydrometeorological Prediction Center, and various media sources)

Virginia Wildfires

In Virginia, more than 50 wildfires have been reported in 24 counties. Currently, there is one wildfire that remains uncontained in Campbell County.Â* Low relative humidity combined with 15 to 25 mph sustained winds and gusts up to 50 mph produced the potential for explosive fire growth across the Commonwealth.Â* Diminishing winds across the Commonwealth overnight will result in a decreased fire threat.Â* High winds across Virginia also contributed to multiple power outages with 7,200 reported across the Commonwealth.Â* No injuries or damages were reported.Â* No FEMA assistance has been requested.
Earthquake Activity

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake occurred at a reported depth of 3.1 miles on Feb. 14, 2011, at 1:35 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, approximately six miles north-northwest of the Mount St. Helens Volcano in Washington State.Â* There were no reports of injury or damage.Â* The earthquake occurred in the Mount St. Helens seismic zone, and was widely felt throughout southwestern Washington and northwestern Oregon.Â* The earthquake was preceded by a small swarm at the end of January, and was followed by several small aftershocks up to magnitude 2.8.Â* The earthquakes are reminiscent of a swarm that occurred about 30 years ago following the May 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens.Â* A sequence of earthquake swarms were triggered by magma withdrawal and climaxed with a magnitude 5.5 earthquake on Feb. 14, 1981.Â* Analysis of the 1981 events suggested that they occurred along existing faults in the Mount St. Helens seismic zone, a northwest to southeast trending system of faults in which Mount St. Helens lies.Â* No volcanic activity has been reported or observed with the recent 2011 earthquakes.Â* The USGS and the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network at University of Washington continue to monitor conditions at Mount St. Helens.Â*(USGS/Cascades Volcano Observatory, Vancouver, Washington)Â*
Preliminary Damage Assessments

Joint Preliminary Damage Assessments are currently underway in New Mexico, Missouri and Washington.
Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)


More...