Friday, October 28, 2011

[FEMA]

Homeland Security Threat Level: YELLOW (ELEVATED)

Significant National Weather

West
A frontal system will bring rain and mountain snow showers to the Pacific Northwest and the Northern Rockies.
MidwestÂ*
Much of the region will be dry and cold. Frost Advisories and Freeze Warnings are in effect from the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. An upper level disturbance will bring some rain and snow showers to the Upper Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes. Snow is possible across northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
SouthÂ*
Cooler than average temperatures and widespread precipitation in the form of rain and thunderstorms is forecast for the Southeast. The Southern Appalachians will see a wintery mix of rain and snow. Some accumulation of snow is possible.
Northeast
Precipitation will spread northward into the Mid-Atlantic today. The higher elevations of the Appalachians will receive snow, up to 2 inches, by Saturday morning. Cooler than average temperatures are expected across the region, highs will range from the 20s in Northern New England to the 50s along the Mid-Atlantic Coast.

NASA in Final Preparations for Nov. 8 Asteroid Flyby

NASA detects tracks and characterizes asteroids and comets passing close to Earth using both ground- and space-based telescopes. The Near-Earth Object Observations Program, commonly called "Spaceguard," discovers these objects, characterizes a subset of them, and plots their orbits to determine if any could be potentially hazardous to our planet. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the Near-Earth Object Program Office for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena CA.

NASA scientists will be tracking asteroid 2005 YU55 with antennas of the agency's Deep Space Network at Goldstone, Calif., as the space rock safely flies past Earth slightly closer than the moon's orbit on Nov. 8. Scientists are treating the flyby of the 1,300-foot-wide asteroid as a science target of opportunity â allowing instruments on "spacecraft Earth" to scan it during the close pass.

Tracking of the asteroid will begin at 12:30 p.m. (EDT) on Nov. 4, using the 70-meter Deep Space Network antenna, and last for about two hours. The asteroid will continue to be tracked by Goldstone for at least four hours each day from Nov. 6 through Nov. 10. Radar observations from the Arecibo Planetary Radar Facility in Puerto Rico will begin on Nov. 8, the same day the asteroid will make its closest approach to Earth at 6:28 p.m. PST.

The trajectory of asteroid 2005 YU55 is well understood. At the point of closest approach, it will be no closer than 201,700 miles or 0.85 the distance from the moon to Earth. The gravitational influence of the asteroid will have no detectable effect on anything here on Earth, including our planet's tides or tectonic plates. Although 2005 YU55 is in an orbit that regularly brings it to the vicinity of Earth (and Venus and Mars), the 2011 encounter with Earth is the closest this space rock has come for at least the last 200 years. Arecibo radar observations of asteroid 2005 YU55 made in 2010 show it to be approximately spherical in shape. It is slowly spinning, with a rotation period of about 18 hours. The asteroid's surface is darker than charcoal at optical wavelengths.

During tracking, scientists will use the Goldstone and Arecibo antennas to bounce radio waves off the space rock. Radar echoes returned from 2005 YU55 will be collected and analyzed. NASA scientists hope to obtain images of the asteroid from Goldstone as fine as about 7 feet per pixel. This should reveal a wealth of detail about the asteroid's surface features, shape, dimensions and other physical properties.
The last time a space rock as big came as close to Earth was in 1976, although astronomers did not know about the flyby at the time. The next known approach of an asteroid this large will be in 2028.

Additional Information:

• Animation of the trajectory for asteroid 2005 YU55 â Nov. 8-9, 201I: www.nasa.gov/images/content/541440main_2005_YU55_approach.gif
• Asteroids and near-Earth objects: www.jpl.nasa.gov/asteroidwatch
• The Deep Space Network: deepspace.jpl.nasa.gov/dsn

Space Weather

No space weather storms were observed for the past 24 hours. No space weather storms are predicted for the next 24 hours.
Tropical Weather Outlook

Atlantic/Caribbean/GulfÂ*
As of 5 a.m. EDTÂ*
Tropical Storm Rina
Rina was located about 15 miles west-northwest of Cancun, Mexico. Rina is moving toward the north-northeast near 5 mph. This general motion is expected to continue for the next 12 hours or so. Rina should then begin a southward drift back to the northwestern Caribbean Sea and remain there for a few days. Maximum sustained winds have decreased to near 50 mph with higher gusts. These winds are confined to a small area over water to the northeast of the center. Tropical storm force winds extend outward up to 70 miles mainly northeast of the center. Gradual weakening is forecast and Rina should become a remnant low in about 48 hours.

(Area 1) (As of 2 a.m. EDT)Â*
Showers and thunderstorms over the west-central Caribbean Sea are associated with a broad area of low pressure. Development of this disturbance, if any, should be slow to occur as it drifts northwestward. This system has a low chance (10 percent) of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours.

(Area 2) (As of 2 a.m. EDT)
A low pressure system over the eastern Atlantic about 850 miles west-northwest of the Cape Verde Islands is producing a small area of showers and thunderstorms. Upper-level winds are expected to be marginally conducive for development over the next couple of days. This system has a low chance (10 percent) of becoming a tropical cyclone during the next 48 hours as it moves west-northwestward at 5 to 10 mph.

Eastern PacificÂ*Â*
No tropical cyclone formations at this time.

Central Pacific
No tropical cyclone activity is expected through Saturday evening.

Western Pacific
No tropical cyclone activity. Â*

Earthquake Activity

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake occurred at 9:35 p.m. EDT, Oct. 27, in the Aleutian Island chain, approximately 1,032 miles west-southwest of Anchorage, Alaska at a depth of 33.1miles. No tsunami was generated.
Wildfire Update

The National Wildland Fire Preparedness Level remains at Preparedness Level 1 (Minimal large fire activity nationally.) On Thursday, Oct. 27, initial fire attack activity was reported LIGHT with 85 new fires reported on Thursday.Â* There was one 1 uncontained large fire and no new large fires reported.
Disaster Declaration Activity

No new activity (FEMA HQ)


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